


The Lunar Phase

by lunariny (malzenn)



Category: ONEUS (Band)
Genre: 200 years of sexy sexy peace, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Turned Into Vampire, Crack Treated Seriously, Enemies to Friends, Fluff, Found Family, Friends to Enemies, Gen, Historical Inaccuracy, Hurt/Comfort, I respect Ravn more than i respect god and i think that’s very sexy of me, Minor Character Death, Ravn isn’t narcissistic that’s just self confidence babes, The only reason god is ever capitalised is because I respect Ravn, Unreliable Narrator, Youngjo: hey i got baptised Everyone else: how are you not dead?, comfort is stored in the moon, leedo is a himbo, like lowkey tho - Freeform, this is beta'd but we're still dying like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:54:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 32,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27516424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/malzenn/pseuds/lunariny
Summary: If he thinks hard about it, he can still remember the day he got turned: it was a cold day in January, 21st if his memory serves him well. He can still remember how weak he felt, and the thirst that never seemed to leave him. Could still remember his friend begging for him to make it, praying to a god that had long abandoned him, he can remember praying for peace.He can remember falling in battle when the Manchu arrived. He was one of the first to fall that day, completely unprepared for the fight that was to ensue. He can remember the screams, and how cold his friend’s tears were. The cold tears freaked him out more than when he bit him.When the members of Oneus find themselves turned to vampires, they find a family in each other.But when an old friend comes back, he threatens to break the family apart.It's a new moon.
Comments: 24
Kudos: 38





	1. When you're immortal founding a family is surprisingly difficult (Ravn should never have kids)

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warnings for this fic:  
> Death, suicidal thoughts (these tend to be more implied), blood, abuse, hallucinations  
> Trigger warnings for this chapter:  
> Suicidal thoughts
> 
> I tried to get it at least somewhat historically accurate, however, I know it's not entirely accurate. If you notice any glaring mistakes please let me know, otherwise hope yous enjoy.

If he thinks hard about it, he can still remember the day he got turned: it was a cold day in January, 21st if his memory serves him well. He can still remember how weak he felt, and the thirst that never seemed to leave him. Could still remember his friend begging for him to make it, praying to a god that had long abandoned him, he can remember praying for peace.

He can remember falling in battle when the Manchu arrived. He was one of the first to fall that day, completely unprepared for the fight that was to ensue. He can remember the screams, and how cold his friend’s tears were. The cold tears freaked him out more than when he bit him.

It’s been decades since his friend abandoned him, some petty argument that spiralled out of control after decades of building up. Youngjo can’t even remember what it was about. He just remembers the place where it happened, the place finds himself constantly revisiting, somewhere secluded along the river Han. 

He watches how the movement in the water changes the reflection of the moon, listening out for anyone, there’s not even the odd traveller trying to get from point A to B as quickly as possible, praying that the rumours of vampires are false. As the moon floats in the river, without care, he prays for his friend to come back, so that at least he won’t be alone for longer, forced to leave his home once people have too many questions about why he doesn’t seem to age, before they can connect the pieces. 

The sky grows lighter, and while he doesn’t have to hide from the sun, he’d rather not be in it.

At the turn of the century, he settles into a small village, near the Han river so that he can see if his friend ever did decide to come to find him again, but still far enough from that spot so that he doesn’t have the overwhelming urge to visit on a daily basis. 

It was a cold winter night when he went back to the spot. The river hadn’t frozen over but it looked like it wanted to, and his hanbok wasn’t enough to fight back against the cold that seeped into his very soul. The ground was covered in a layer of frost, shining under the light of the moon. It was a full moon, the second one of the year; it painted the world in a soft light and danced in the water. He ran his hands through the reflection, trying to hold onto the moon. A hopeless endeavour, yet as he caught the reflection in his hands he felt a swell of pride and accomplishment.

Yet, as he turns to look beside him, there’s no one there, and the moon slips through his fingers. His hands are freezing yet he drops them so the water can flow over them, turning them into icicles. He stares at the empty spot beside him, tears welling up in his eyes. he tries to will them away, but as he sits alone by the river, in the moonlight, he can only wonder what it would be like to have someone by his side, but with no family to speak of, he highly doubts it could even be possible.

He looks up at the moon.

A month passes before he travels back to that spot. this time he brings his paints, hoping to capture the beauty of the moon in the river, it’s truly a sight to behold and treasure, no matter how many times he’s seen it. It’s a sight devoid of humanity, a sight that under a clear sky reveals so much beauty, a sight he wants to share. It was too beautiful to only be admired by one person alone. 

He hears something and looks around. A boy, he must’ve been no older than 20, stood near, pointedly not looking him in the eye. He looks to be a similar height as Young Jo with fluffy hair, and friendly eyes. He bows.

“Sorry for disturbing you, sir.” He turns to leave.

“You don’t have to leave,” Youngjo speaks quickly, turning around to properly look at the younger man, in the low light, it’s hard to tell but he’s sure that it’s Lee Gunmin. He raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say anything or make any moves to leave.

“I’m Kim Youngjo.” He clarifies, just in case he is also struggling to tell who he is. 

“Lee Gunmin.” He speaks with a laugh in his voice. 

They find that conversation between them flows easily, as though they had known each other for much longer than a few hours. They head back into the village in the early hours of the morning, Youngjo making sure that Gunmin won’t get in trouble for sneaking out before heading home, and trying to resume the painting from memory.

The next time the two meet is a week later, the sky is cloudy and dark and the wind is blowing enough to shake the trees. Yet they both meet up under the sky with nothing but themselves. 

They find, once again, conversation is easy. Gunmin always seems to know how to revive a conversation should it hit a lull and is incredibly intelligent. At one point he brings up the topic of vampires, as his father has noticed bite marks in the cattle, yet he somehow manages to realise that even if there really is a vampire in the area, they clearly mean no harm, as they don’t drink enough to kill the cattle and no one has gone missing in the area.

“So who do you think is the vampire.” Youngjo has never been more thankful for the cover of the dark, as otherwise, Gunmin could see how the blood drained from his face.

“I struggle to imagine it would be someone in our village.”

“I know, it just makes sense that it’s someone in the village, they have to have an insider’s knowledge of the people living here to know when to get access to the cattle without being spotted.”

Lee Gunmin was terrifying, and ever so knowledgeable about vampires, even able to figure out some fact from fiction. Such as the myth that vampires were killed in sunlight, claiming that surely we’d know of more vampires, as completely avoiding the sun was almost impossible without living far away from humans, such as in the mountains, where cities were almost impossible.

They part ways once again in the early hours of the morning. Youngjo stays at that village for one more year, to try to raise less suspicion, before he fakes his death, leaving torn off, bloody scraps of his old hanbok in his spot. 

It’s a full moon.

He flees the scene before Gunmin has a chance to spot him. It’ll be a few decades before he can return, but his friend hasn’t visited it since their fight, so hopefully, he doesn’t visit now. 

Once he’s a considerable distance away, much closer to Hanseong than he expected, he takes a break to look at the moon. It’s waning, nearly gone. He thinks of Gunmin, knowing that he’ll miss their conversations under the moon. He wonders if he is looking at the same moon.

He makes the rest of the journey to Hanseong, as the sun rises. He gets there when the sun is in the middle of the sky, a headache blooming. The gate is open and he gets in with no problem, the bustling city takes him by surprise with how loud it is. People all around him move around, chatting, trying to sell their goods, and children run around playing in the streets. 

He wanders the streets taking in all the changes since the last time he’s been here. The streets are still relatively the same, more artists and scholars than he remembers from last time. it would truly be a nice place to paint, he could be part of a community of like-minded individuals. He just needed to get settled in first. It was easy enough to find a place to stay for the night, somewhere cheap but with a homey feel. The innkeepers were friendly and he fell asleep as soon as he hit the pillow, a deep dreamless sleep which was both too long and yet not long enough.

Within a month he had settled in once again, despite the fact that he was in the city, it was quite a peaceful life, dedicated to learning and art. He bought the latest novels, and loved just how new they felt, the topics never ones he would see in his younger years and now that he had them, he knew how much he needed them, reading his favourite ones over and over again until he could recite passages from them with ease.

Still, as he read in the candlelight, he would look beside him, wishing Gunmin, or someone was there to hear the stories as he recited passages to an empty room. 

Still, his days are relatively peaceful, if somewhat repetitive. The only thing of note the past few weeks was when he bumped into a young man on the streets and accidentally broke his Daegeum. He apologised and offered to pay but the anger on his face was almost enough to scare Youngjo off. It was a quiet anger, an intense fire in his eyes. Still, what really caused him to run was a certain face in the crowd, Gunmin. He fled with the promise to find him again.

It’s been a week, while he has searched for the man, it’s a struggle when there are so many people who call this city home. He just hoped that the man wouldn’t be upset. 

So he keeps himself to his art and makes enough money to live somewhat comfortably, and he finds an old bronze mirror. He learns as much as he can, getting his hands on as many books as he could, the works, unlike anything that he’d ever read before. 

Yet, his house felt too big and too quiet for him.

He notices when Catholicism is outlawed, and then reintroduced, yet the place he had moved to now was too small to find some of the priests.

It wasn’t until a few moves later, in the early 1800s that he finally can hear someone preach, and for once he feels less lonely. He prays that day, kneeling on the soft dirt in a forest, telling God everything, how much he misses Gunmin, how lonely he is and how afraid he is. The first time he prays, he cries. He’s thankful that he’s kneeling as he would have collapsed. Everything through the years has built up, and the dam has broken and he’s loud as the neverending flow of tears erupts. He cries until his face has pins and needles, his eyes are puffy and bloodshot. Yet, he finds comfort. He finds peace. 

He prays on a daily basis. According to the priest, God listens to everyone who prays no matter what, so he prays, begging for a sign that God was listening and didn’t turn his back on him. He knows he isn’t holy, he knows he has to hide who he is from everyone around him, but he can’t hide from God, and he prays for God’s love.

He still visits the spot on the Han river, sometimes praying that Gunmin is safe in the afterlife, that God is taking care of him because there’s no way he would be going anywhere other than Heaven. 

He sits at the river, it’s daylight, and he feels heavy and tired, the sun hurts his eyes. He stares into the river, his reflection stares back at him. The sunlight makes the river glitter and adds a shimmer effect to his reflection, amplifying his beauty.

There’s a revolt in Gwanseo in December 1811. He prays for peace. There’s violence instead, ending next month.  
Decades later, he can feel the tension rising.

Choe Jeu was executed in 1864. 

Trouble was brewing across the waters in Japan. 

There was an attack in Ganghwa in 1875.

Youngjo prayed for peace through the years. He prayed for the safety of those around him. 

His prayers seemingly fall on empty ears. 

The next year the Treaty of Ganghwa was signed. At this time, Youngjo is in Hanseong, and it was all he could ever hear about. Western technology was introduced. There was a mission sent to Japan. Change was everywhere.

The Treaty was resented. Article 10 in particular, it was all he heard about. He prays. He prays for safety, security and for everyone around him. 

He can no longer devote as much time to his art. He prays whenever he can. His spot in the Han river stays lonely as he can’t visit as often. He has to support his community, help the people around him as much as possible.

Still, as much as he tried to help, as much as he worked to help provide stability in an ever-changing environment, he couldn’t help but feel like an outsider. They have families to worry about, close friends and children, while he walks home to an empty house every night.

He reads his books in an empty house, with no one to tell his favourite stories to.

Four years later, Russia is apparently a threat.

Reformists have a voice and are using it. China tries to quell those voices. Japan is encouraging change. The world feels unsteady and if Youngjo isn’t careful, he’ll fall off the world into the abyss.

He enlists into the military.

It’s what he knows can help his people. Help protect the families, the defenceless and the country.

The hours are long and difficult and he falls asleep as soon as his head touches the pillow. The sun hurts his eyes and makes him feel weak, yet he works hard. He supports his peers. He befriends a guy called Hyunjin. He’s a hard worker and their conversations flow so naturally.

As 1882 passes, they notice the Japanese are better treated, 1000s of Koreans are discharged in favour of the Japanese. Then they miss their pay for over a year. There are talks of a mutiny. Youngjo is conflicted, on one hand, his peers’ and his hard work isn’t getting what it deserves, on the other, he doesn’t know if he could be part of this, cause unnecessary violence and harm another person. He knows he’d be supporting (Cameo dude) but at the end of the day, is that reason enough for violence? He wants to protect those he cares about, not harm others.

He loses sleep.

This could be protecting his friend. This would be hurting others. 

They receive a month’s worth of rice. If it could even be called that. It smells foul, and he could swear there was sand. Anger flared up, which died to reveal hopelessness. He stares at the ‘rice’ in disbelief.

July 23 happened. 

They had reached a breaking point.

It had to be Min Gyeom-ho’s fault. He hears the protests, he knows what’s happening, physically he’s there, mentally he’s somewhere else. He doesn’t know what he’s doing, whether he’s shouting or silent. 

The police are here. He’s silent as he’s locked up, as regret pools up in him. He comforts his friend, just going through the motions. He shouldn’t have done this. He hears the violence, he hears the shouts, the gunshots, the screams. 

He wants nothing more to do with this. 

He doesn’t want to be part of some senseless violence. He wants to go back to learning, to peace. To befriending science enthusiasts by the river. He wants peace and forgiveness.

He hopes Gunmin had a chance to see more than that village, to explore science. 

The shouts got louder and louder.

The doors were opened, weapons were passed around. Youngjo knew he couldn’t be part of this anymore. He fled, stepping over bodies of the fallen. He’d just be considered a missing casualty. With this much violence, it was bound to happen, he guesses. He apologises, he doesn’t know who he apologises to, he just feels he has to.

He can’t sleep or the next few days. He avoids any form of news. He hears rumours; that cannot be avoided. It’s three days later when sleep deprivation takes over and he collapses. He wakes up 12 hours later. He’s weak as he barely ate in the last few days. He goes into the forest to try to find something, stumbling over branches and rocks. He apologises before he sinks his fangs into some poor animal. 

He sleeps on the floor of the forest.

He hears there are troops in Hanseong.

He spends most of his days hunting and sleeping in the forest, he avoids the river, for fear of his reflection.

He goes back to Hanseong. he can hide there, it’s an easy place to settle into as you disappear into a sea of people. He makes a life for himself, an unsteady one as the tension grows. He paints for the first time in years. He supports those around him, helping out a family where the father was in the army. 

He still struggles to sleep, nightmares haunting his mind, ghosts of his regrets whispering poison into his ears. He’s struggling to breathe, sinking deeper into the ocean, pulled down into the depths by his fears. He forces himself to work, throws himself into job after job, helping out everyone he can, families without a father to support them, homeless on the streets, orphaned children. 

He barely registers the years passing as he sinks deeper into the ocean, all alone.

There’s new tension in the air.

He feels like he’s about to shatter, so he throws himself into more work, keeping himself busy until he passes out from exhaustion. His sleep is pitiful and when he dreams, he’s alone. He’s surrounded by people on a daily basis, works with them, yet, he feels so alone. As though he could never truly be one of them. He has to hide a core part of himself to be allowed into their space and he’s tired.

He wants to drown.

It would be so easy, he’s already in the ocean.

Yet something stops him. He sees the sunrise every day when he was certain he wouldn’t. It would be so easy to give in to the monsters in the ocean, yet he keeps fighting. He finds comfort in religion.

Once the petition starts going around Hanseong about Donghak religion, he leaves, taking his few possessions with him. He doesn’t know if he can handle what he knows will be a conflict again. Not so soon after the last one.

He was right, there was fighting. Lives were unnecessarily lost.

So he finds a peaceful life by the river, helping out on a farm. Trying to support his people in a way that spares lives.

He leaves in the mid to late 1910s, fully intending to avoid cities and towns for a while after the Japanese’s forced occupation. His religion preaches forgiveness but the anger is so raw, he quite simply can’t. 

There he hears a scream. He follows the sound, there’s a little farm in the middle of the forest, from which he can hear crying, the sobs are loud and heartbroken. The door is open. He takes a look inside, there’s a young man crying over the body of someone who looks very similar.

The boy looks up, and he rubs his eyes and tries to hold back his tears. His mouth is still open in an aborted scream, and Youngjo notices his fangs. He looks at the body, closer inspects his neck. There are bite marks.

“I didn’t mean to.” Youngjo enters the house, removing his shoes. He ignores how the boy still has his shoes on. The boy sniffles, before another wave of tears takes over. He screams, his voice is raw and broken. Youngjo wordless sits beside him, as he hugs the corpse, still screaming. He’s shaking.

Youngjo can probably guess that they’re twins. There doesn’t seem to be any signs of struggle in the house, yet he can’t rule out the impossibility of an attack.

Once the boy calms down, he looks up at Youngjo, with wide bloodshot puppy dog eyes and his heart melts. He needs to tread water to make sure that this boy does not drown.

“You’re a vampire, right?” Youngjo asks, the boy nods, he bows his head and refuses to look at him.

“What’s your name?”

“Son Dongju.” His voice is quiet, hoarse.

“Kim Youngjo. You can call me hyung.”

He looks up, confusion is etched onto his face.

“I’m going to take care of you, you look like you need it. If you’ll let me of course.” The boy thinks about it for a second, before nodding and looking down at the corpse.

“Don’t worry, we’ll give him a proper burial.”

It’s a new moon.


	2. Sus murderer part 1 (Seoho)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He shouts again, trying to push himself to his feet. He can hear someone running his way, calling out his name again. His father kneels beside him, inspecting him. He stops once he sees the bite mark in his neck, and pushes Gunmin away, his weak body falling into the river. The cold shocks him awake and he can physically touch the ground but his body is weak, so he keeps going below the surface of the water. He breaks the surface to gasp for air before falling under again. 
> 
> He’s going to die.
> 
> His father is the reason he’s going to die.
> 
> He breaks the surface again.
> 
> His father is gone.
> 
> The water isn’t fast but it’s enough to pull him along in his weakened state. He doesn’t fight it. He adjusts to the cold. He’s fighting for air. He wants to throw up. His head is pounding.
> 
> He’s not going to die like this.  
> \--  
> AKA Seoho's origin story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first six chapters are more like interconnected one-shots. Just as a warning. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

Every village had someone who didn’t quite fit in. Where Gunmin lives, that someone was called Youngjo. He seems nice enough, but keeps mainly to himself, and disappears regularly at night. He paints, skilled beyond his years, after all, he's only in his 20s. 

So, he follows him one night, out to the river where he sets up his paints. He turns around, his eyes are wide and unblinking. 

“Sorry for disturbing you, sir.” Gunmin bows, praying that he won’t get scolded for intruding, instead, he’s invited to stay. 

Gunmin finds out that while Youngjo doesn’t smile often, he has a friendly smile that can ease other’s worries, and that they both have a love for music. Gunmin sings that night, his voice clear and only heard by his new friend, the river and the moon who smiles down on them. Youngjo encourages him to go to the city to study and learn more about the world around them, to explore science and to make discoveries for future generations to learn. 

They talk until the sun starts to rise, painting the world in beautiful golden hues, and Youngjo frets about how his father would react, knowing that Gunmin had been out so late. They promise to meet again at the same spot. Yet, he feels no closer to unravelling the mystery that is Kim Youngjo.

They meet again, this time their conversation focuses more on vampires. He notices how fidgety Youngjo gets around this topic, despite the confidence in his words so he puts this down to a fear of vampires. It seems like the logical conclusion, after all, he’s never seen him like this before. Still, more knowledge on a topic helps with fear, demystifies it and makes it easier to bear, so that his body doesn’t betray him, revealing what his words refuse. So, he explains everything he knows about vampires, and how the vampire stalking the cattle here has to at least be non-harmful at least towards other people.

Youngjo is an attentive listener, and very rarely provides his own input, until they change topic where he talks more freely.

They meet often, talking under the moon where no one can see them.

Until Gunmin goes there and finds a bloody strip of cloth, that looks suspiciously similar to the hanbok Youngjo often wore. He runs back home, stumbling over the uneven ground, clutching onto the piece of fabric, his mind racing. Surely Youngjo wasn’t dead, the vampire was harmless, the cattle were the only victims. Youngjo’s house was the one most out of the way of the other houses, so he was able to enter without difficulty. He looked for a source of light, however, he had to go back home to bring a candle over.

The wind kept on threatening to kill his little flame, even when he covered it to protect it. It survived thankfully and Gunmin was able to search the house. 

It was suspiciously empty. No clothes, money or food. He clutches the fabric tight in his hand as he searches through the cupboards, trying to find something to explain everything. He isn’t particularly neat, and his vision is blurred as tears begin to well up. If he does cry, only the moon is a witness, and she isn’t going to tell anyone. So, he lets the tears fall as he slumps to the ground. 

He wakes up on the floor in the early morning, shivering as he pulls his hanbok tighter around him. He spots the fabric and the mess he’s made; he tidies the place up before heading out to reveal the news. 

He heads out to their spot, now that it is no longer under the cover of darkness, the complete lack of blood is so startlingly obvious.

Youngjo was very much alive.

Youngjo had no wife, parents or body, so a funeral wasn’t entirely possible. However, everyone was mourning, the village was small enough that everyone knew everyone, and despite his oddities, he was friendly and well-liked and the only one who knew the truth, to Gunmin's knowledge, was Gunmin. 

Gunmin wrote everything he could about Youngjo in his funeral oration, without revealing any of his secrets, after all, he wasn’t actually dead. 

He visits their spot, the moon clear in the river that Youngjo loved. Deep in his heart, he knows that it’s unlikely that he’ll come back for him, but as he sits on the riverbank, he wishes for his friend back.

He hears movement behind him, and he turns around. Heart racing. Fear runs through him, he doesn’t recognise the man behind him, all humanity has left his wild eyes. He’s drooling. He’s tall, pale and has poorly cut hair. He pounces before Gunmin can run, and pins him down, a strength he simply can’t compete with, despite his best efforts. 

Pain blooms from his neck and he can feel the blood rushing out. His breathing quickens as he tries to push the vampire off him. He shouts, but no one hears. He kicks out. Strength leaves him as his limbs feel numb. Then he’s out.

He doesn’t expect to wake up.

Yet, here he is, alone in broad daylight. His limbs are numb, and he can’t sit up. He can hear a faint call, which sounds like his name. Using everything he has, he calls out. His voice is hoarse, and it feels like blades are scraping his throat. 

He shouts again, trying to push himself to his feet. He can hear someone running his way, calling out his name again. His father kneels beside him, inspecting him. He stops once he sees the bite mark in his neck, and pushes Gunmin away, his weak body falling into the river. The cold shocks him awake and he can physically touch the ground but his body is weak, so he keeps going below the surface of the water. He breaks the surface to gasp for air before falling under again. 

He’s going to die.

His father is the reason he’s going to die.

He breaks the surface again.

His father is gone.

The water isn’t fast but it’s enough to pull him along in his weakened state. He doesn’t fight it. He adjusts to the cold. He’s fighting for air. He wants to throw up. His head is pounding.

He’s not going to die like this.

He breaks the surface again, gulping down as much air as possible, before dragging himself to the riverbank. His hands grabbing out for anything he could reach. He falls to the ground, breathing heavily. He coughs. His throat is raw, burning filled with knives.

The world is big, and he’s been cast out from the only place he’s ever known. He doesn’t know where to go from here. He’s so small, lying next to a river. Is he dying? He doesn’t know. It certainly feels like it.

His body is burning. The sun is falling. 

What does he know? He knows Youngjo didn’t need to eat from people, cattle didn’t turn into vampires, the scars heal. He knows he needs to eat something. He knows he can’t hurt another person.

He barely processes the next few days, doesn’t know how he’s alive, is he even alive or is this some limbo he’s created? He knows he’s consumed blood, there’s some on his hanbok that he can’t wash away. Yet, he doesn’t feel like he has. He’s in a perpetual state of thirst. His hands are stained. Days pass by and he slowly remembers more of what happened. He remembers how the animals went limp under him. He cries under the moon, small sobs that manage to break through the walls that he was forced to build up. Now, there’s no one but the moon to see him like this. The moon is a comforting presence. She doesn’t judge him.

He finds himself outside Hanseong days later, looking very much worse for wear. 

He gets in, somehow. While he had washed up the best he could, he knew he looked homeless. Which, he supposes, he is.

He wanders around, aimless and lost. Until he spots a very familiar face, who gets lost in the crowd, however, he could have sworn that it was Youngjo. The first night was rough, shivering in the dark under the moonlight. Drunks wander the street, shouting and cheering. Gunmin shies away, trying to avoid them as their shouts get louder and they push each other around.

They say something he can’t quite understand while pointing at him. Alarm bells ring in his head and he runs. They give chase, and so he runs through streets he’s never seen before today. He’s grown up helping out on a farm, he’s fit but they are fast, yet uncoordinated. If he makes enough fast turns they should stumble, crash into and fall each other. He loses them, out of breath. He hides in the cover of the dark, holds himself for warmth and looks up at the moon who still shines down on him. 

It makes no sense how much comfort is stored in the moon.

The sun rises, and he looks for work wherever he can find it. He avoids giving out his name when he can, bile rising when he remembers his father. Still, his name doesn’t get used often, so he can work with no problem. It’s not the best pay, but it’s enough to get a bed for the night at an inn. He falls asleep as soon as he’s in bed. 

He washes up in the morning, scrubbing all the dirt off and relaxing. His next few days pass in a similar way.

He sees Youngjo again a week later. He’s apologising to someone, and they make eye contact. His eyes widen, he stumbles over his words. 

He runs.

Gunmin chases after him, but he disappears into the crowd and gets lost. However, the guy he was talking to was still there, picking up the broken parts of his daegeum off the ground.

“Do you know where he stays?” He figures it’s hopeless but he’s desperate enough. Gunmin knows what he’s going through, he’s been there.

He looks down at the man. He’s mad, yet Gunmin can barely take him seriously when he looks like a baby chick. It’s hilarious, and he has to hold back a laugh. 

“What do you think?” He knows he’s lost Youngjo by now. He’ll probably flee the city again. He’s probably plotting another half-assed death plan, with the minimum required evidence to prove a death. Maybe he’s leaving another person alone.

“Are you ok?” Now that the man was no longer angry, his chick-like features looked more natural rather than comical. Now he resembled a kicked puppy.

“Yeah, fine.” Gunmin doesn’t know whether or not he should leave, there’s an uncomfortably long period of silence. He’s considering leaving before the other man asks another question. 

“Why are you looking for him?” He also looks like he’s not sure if he should still be part of this conversation. Yet here they are.

“He is - was a friend.” Does he have to elaborate? Is this how a conversation works? There’s another awkward silence. “He ran away, I didn’t think I would see him again.” 

The other man looks down.

“I’m sorry.” Maybe he shouldn’t have said that, there’s another awkward silence. “I’m Kim Geonhak. You?”

He should have seen this coming. He didn’t really want to give his name, it was a now unwanted gift from his parents, who abandoned him so easily.

“Lee Gu- actually give me a moment,” Geonhak didn’t actually know him, he could give any name he wanted. Choosing a name for yourself is surprisingly difficult. “Lee Seoho.”

“It’s nice to meet you Lee Seoho-ssi.”

The new name sounds nice.

“Likewise.”

Should he leave? This conversation was quite simply not going anywhere. Would it be rude? He didn’t really want to leave; he could have left a long time ago already.

“Do you want help repairing that?” Geonhak looks like he debates it for a moment before nodding and thanking him. Geonhak could be a murderer. Sure, he doesn’t look like one, but it was an option. Still, he follows him to his house. The place is nice and clean, they remove their shoes and Seoho notes how silent it is. 

“Do you live alone?” Probably rude, but important to the question of whether or not Geonhak is a murderer.

“Yes, father died last spring.” He’s a murderer.

“That’s rough.” 

How does one comfort someone who killed their father? 

Apparently, you don’t. Geonhak brushes the topic off. He seriously murdered his father. There’s no other explanation. The river wasn’t going to kill him, the man who looked like a literal baby bird was.

Instead, the baby bird man is actually nice and friendly. He doesn’t really talk much but does offer him tea. They work well together, able to fix the daegeum without any hassle. Geonhak doesn’t kick him out after they’re finished either. Instead, he prepares them another cup of tea.  
“Tell me about your friend.” Geonhak’s voice is really deep, somehow this is the first time he’s noticed this. It suits him in an odd way.

“He is easy to talk to, enjoys his art, and helped my father out with the cattle. He helps everyone out, speaks to everyone. He is odd, has strange sleeping patterns and never seems to try to make friends. Handsome. He also really loves the river, would stare at it for hours.”

Geonhak stares for a few seconds, sipping his tea, his brows furrowed.

“Why did he leave?”

“I wish I knew.”

After dinner they make plans to meet up again, before Seoho leaves. He checks how much money he has, it’s enough to have a roof over his head tonight, but not enough for breakfast. He’s found that a meat-heavy diet can help keep the thirst at bay, at least for a few days before he has to hunt again for some proper blood. Maybe he should hunt tomorrow.

He sleeps peacefully and wakes early in the morning; he leaves the city walls not long after waking up. 

Hunting is a lot harder when you have control over your actions.

He has to take into consideration the wind speed and direction, how loud he is and how fast he would be while running. Could he jump from a tree? That would give him the element of surprise, and one is faster falling than running. He could jump from a tree. He climbs.

There’s movement underneath him and he drops himself from the tree. Pain blooms around his shoulder, however, he catches a wild boar and sinks his fangs in. The blood is warm, and the boar is fighting back. It hits his shoulder, and he screams, his fangs rip out and the boar runs, leaving a trail of blood.

He could chase the boar, but he’s in pain and is no longer thirsty, so he heads back to find some work for the day. He needs to find something more secure than odd jobs but isn’t quite sure about how to get a stable one. He was always meant to help his father with the farm, but that clearly isn’t an option anymore. 

Youngjo had encouraged him to go out, see the world, learn what he could. But what can he do? How can he study when he can’t even get books? He doesn’t even have a stable ho-.

Geonhak lives alone. Granted, there’s no way he’s not a murderer. However, Seoho’s still alive, and taking all the evidence he has collected, there’s none to suggest he can die. After all, he survived a vampire attack, a frozen river, and life without shelter in a forest, so who’s to say a little murder could kill him?

He brings the idea up next time they meet. Geonhak’s eyes flash wide before his brows furrow and he pouts. This is a grown-ass man who pouts.

“Uh, sure.”

Seoho bows and thanks Geonhak.

“When will you move? How much would you need to bring over?”

“Oh, I don’t own anything.”

Geonhak just smiles and says, “So you can move in straight away.”

He’s too happy about this, he has to be a murderer.

It’s been a week now, and he is still alive. In fact, Geonhak has given him spare clothes and has cooked dinner on an almost daily basis, which was surprisingly good, however his expectations were on the floor, and the food wasn’t burnt or poisoned. Or the food could be poisoned, and his new vampire powers meant that he couldn’t die from them. He’d have to test that at some point.

He does get his hanbok clean, it’s tough and he does have to buy hydrogen peroxide for the blood, but it’s clean now. The hanbok is slightly damaged now though.

However, Geonhak is probably not a murderer. He’s witnessed him help out orphaned children and has given them his dinner, which doesn’t seem like murderer behaviour. He hasn’t met many, however, and this could be an elaborate scheme to gain his trust.

There’s a full moon. Geonhak is practising a new piece before he leaves to perform next week. It’s a beautiful piece, he had helped to compose it.

A week later, Geonhak leaves, he says the trip shouldn’t be too long, so he should be back within a few days. Seoho’s fine for the first day, he hunts so that he doesn’t have to actually try to cook something. This time he doesn’t try to drop from a tree, his shoulder still hasn’t recovered properly. 

He really doesn’t enjoy how metallic blood tastes. It’s also really warm but in an uncomfortable way, it feels strange. It’s also really watery, it’s definitely thicker but it’s still thin. In other words, he hates this, and he will fight Geonhak.

He does try to cook one day; he’s seen people do it all his life so it can’t be that hard. He washes the rice and turns the stove on.

Geonhak walks through the door.

There’s a small fire.

Seoho is spinning in circles trying to find a water source.

Geonhak starts yelling at him. As if that would stop the fire. Seoho finds the bowl he washed the rice in and throws it over the fire. The flames are extinguished, he cheers.

“How are you not dead?” Geonhak yells.

“It wasn’t even a big fire!” It was tiny, it wasn’t even a danger. There was almost no smoke.

“You’re just a disaster left alone. You’ve wasted the rice too!” He gestures to the rice. 

“I’m older than you.” 

“Doesn’t seem like it.” The disrespect. 

Four years pass with relative peace. They bicker, they laugh and joke, there are a few near-death experiences (for Geonhak at least, Seoho can’t die). Still, they get along like a house on fire.

Then one-day Geonhak leaves for a performance. It’s just like every other time. They say goodbye, it’s an unconventional goodbye but it works for them.

“Don’t come back.”

“You can’t get rid of me that easily, hyung.”

Fairly routine. 

However, it’s been a week and Geonhak still isn’t back. Sometimes, Geonhak is away for longer than expected, so Seoho isn’t worried yet. Still, he stays up late waiting for Geonhak, his eyes fixed on the doors. 

He’s not worried.

He’s just concerned, Geonhak normally sends him a letter him if he’s going to be out longer than expected. There have been some times he’s been away for a month. He normally gets a warning.

It’s been another week and Geonhak still isn’t back, and Seoho is officially worried. He should’ve told Geonhak to come home safe, to be careful on the roads. He asks around if anyone has seen Geonhak and searches the nearby area. As the days pass his search radius increases until 2 months have passed.

He’s found nothing.

Geonhak isn’t coming back.

It’s a waning crescent moon.


	3. Sus murderer part 2 Electric Boogaloo (Geonhak)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geonhak has been creating music for as long as he can remember, his father was his first tutor. He can remember how happy music made his father, how much peace it brought during his sickness. He remembers his father’s daegeum.
> 
> The same daegeum that lies on the ground, broken in half.
> 
> The culprit has intense eyes, a strong nose and was a similar height to Geonhak. He apologises multiple times, before speaking very quickly and running away and it’s like he was never there.
> 
> His daegeum is broken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My beta reader ships Seoho with everyone at this point, but alas, there are no ships, sorry, I'm here for the friendship. Same beta reader is the one who titles the chapters. I was just gonna do whose POV it was.  
> Upon saying that, I don't think I've been telling that in the summary or notes. This chapter is Geonhak's POV, first 6 chapters are age order, then it's whoever suits it best. ^^  
> Enjoy! ^^

The moon is beautiful. It’s his most powerful muse, he has composed multiple pieces, both musical and poetry based on the beauty of the moon. How the moon comforts and heals.

Geonhak has been creating music for as long as he can remember, his father was his first tutor. He can remember how happy music made his father, how much peace it brought during his sickness. He remembers his father’s daegeum.

The same daegeum that lies on the ground, broken in half.

The culprit has intense eyes, a strong nose and was a similar height to Geonhak. He apologises multiple times, before speaking very quickly and running away and it’s like he was never there.

His daegeum is broken.

He’s slow to pick up the pieces, his hands are shaking. He’s probably shaking. Physically, he knows it’s just a daegeum, it can be fixed or replaced. It’s a clean break after all, it should be easy enough to repair. 

“Do you know where he stays?” Do you know where he stays? What kind of question is that? Who seriously asks that question?

“What do you think?” He knows he should probably be more respectful, after all, he’s certain the person he’s talking to is older than him.

He takes a proper look at the other man, his clothes are filthy, but he’s got nice eyes, however, he’s certain he’s holding back tears.

“Are you ok?” 

“Yeah, fine.” Geonhak knows that’s a lie, he could hear the voice crack. It isn’t his place to pry, he wants to. He doesn’t know what to say. The silence by now has lasted too long.

“He is, was a friend.” Explains why he was looking for him.

Would he reveal more if he kept quiet? Geonhak isn’t entirely sure, he’s also not entirely sure what to say either. They don’t know each other. 

“He ran away, I didn’t think I would see him again.” Geonhak struggles to maintain eye contact, choosing to look down instead. What was he supposed to say? He’s supposed to say something, right?

“I’m sorry.” 

There’s no response but the other man isn’t leaving. Are they rooted to the spot? Is that why no one’s leaving. 

“I’m Kim Geonhak. You?” It’s all he can think of to continue the conversation. It’s still debatable if the conversation should even be continued.

“Lee Gu- actually give me a moment.” The other man looks to his left and is silent for a couple of minutes. He must be having a serious mind blank.

“Lee Seoho.”

“It’s nice to meet you Lee Seoho-ssi.” Seoho smiles.

“Likewise.”

He offers to help repair his daegeum and Geonhak knows he has to befriend him. He thanks him and leads him to his house; he could prepare him some tea. A good cup of tea and conversation is always an effective way to make friends. 

It is easy enough to repair his father’s daegeum and they talk over another cup of tea. He asks about Seoho’s friend, Seoho looks to his right.

“He was easy to talk to, enjoyed his art, and helped father out with the cattle. He helped everyone out, spoke to everyone. He was odd, had strange sleeping patterns and never seemed to try to make friends. Handsome. He also really loved the river, would stare at it for hours.”

Why would someone like that leave their friend behind? It makes no sense. Seoho doesn’t know either. He doesn’t cry, but Geonhak wouldn’t judge him if he did.

Seoho asks him about his music. It’s finally a topic Geonhak knows how to talk about. He talks about the moon and how it inspired his music. Seoho is a good listener.

He prepares dinner for the two of them and they agree to meet up later. Seoho wants to be friends too. 

He has a performance the next day, to show his new music to his patrons. Butterflies swarm, threatening to make him throw up. He’s done this multiple times now but having the eyes on him still has this effect on him. 

He knows his pieces; he’s practised them time and time again. However, he should test that his instrument still works, so under the dying light of the sun, he practices.

He goes to bed once it’s dark.

The performance goes well, and his patrons are pleased with his work, with how modern it is while still feeling incredibly familiar. He’s paid well in rice and other foods. He returns home with a smile and prepares dinner for himself.

The next time he meets Seoho, Seoho asks to move in with him. Which, admittedly, is probably moving very quickly, however, his house is very quiet and can definitely benefit from having another person there, so he agrees.

“When will you move? How much would you need to bring over?” That seems like an important question, he has limited space after all.

“Oh, I don’t own anything.” He’s sure this is just an exaggeration, either that or Seoho is currently down on his luck and probably needs a stable home.

“So, you can move in straight away.” He smiles so that Seoho knows that there’s no doubt that he’s happy with him moving in.

Seoho does move in very quickly. He really did own absolutely nothing. Geonhak ends up giving him some of his clothes so that he doesn't have to wear the same filthy hanbok daily. Seoho looks healthier.

Through their time living together, Geonhak finds some odd habits of Seoho’s, first of all, he leaves without much explanation at least once a week and his clothes get muddy when he returns. He will also sing at any given moment without any music. When he wasn’t working it was great when he was working it was distracting and could easily get on one’s nerves.

Seoho was quick to go through the books that he owned, most of them were his father’s. Geonhak swears he’s caught Seoho reading in the dark as well, without any candles. However, Seoho just assured him that he was just asleep with a book in hand, which makes more sense than him being able to see in the dark.

Seoho was also a disaster when left alone. The first time Geonhak left, which was a few months ago by now, Geonhak had returned to the fire. Not a big one, thankfully, but it was still terrifying to walk home to. The second time he walked home to Seoho without any eyebrows. He never got the story for that.

Seoho would also teach Geonhak all that he learnt about the world and science from scholars and books.

They lived together comfortably for about four years now. Geonhak has a performance out of town, it should be a well-paid opportunity and he should be able to learn from other musicians. He doesn’t plan to be away for more than a week.

“Don’t come back!” Geonhak rolls his eyes, he knows Seoho doesn’t mean it, he scolded Geonhak for being a few days later than he said he’d be. Of course, Geonhak never tried to be late, the poor weather had made travel almost impossible. 

“You can’t get rid of me that easily, hyung.” He knew Seoho would be smiling, a small subtle one.

A few hours later he met a woman, alone, on the road. Her hair was a disaster, and her clothes were torn and muddy. She lies on the ground, nursing her leg, which was bloody. 

“Do you need help?” He stops and crouches down to her level, she whips her head around, facing him. Her eyes are wide and full of unshed tears.

“Do you have any medicine?” Her voice is small and shaky. She can barely hold eye contact.

“I’ll see if I have anything. What happened?” He looks through his bag, he doesn’t think he has anything, but it doesn’t hurt to check. 

“I was attacked.” She looks around the surrounding area, rubbing her leg, “Vampires.”

“It’s still day?” Everyone knew vampires couldn’t be out in the daylight, it burnt them. There’re footsteps behind him.

“That’s a myth.”

There are hands behind him on his neck and shoulders, and then searing pain in his neck. He freezes. He can feel the blood rush out. His brain kicks in.

He pushes the vampire off him. Another wave of blinding pain runs through. He scrambles up, before running. The woman who was previously on the ground gives chase, as well as her partner. They’re fast. He stumbles. A hand reaches out to grab him, he slips out of reach.

His heart is pounding, and he can feel the blood as it rushes out. It’s warm and there’s too much.

He’s tackled to the ground. He can’t breathe. The vampire laps at his neck, it feels disgusting. Her tongue is so dry, it’s almost like sandpaper. He pushes her off. It’s ineffective as it just gives the other vampire access. 

He’s going to throw up. There are fangs in his right arm. There are fangs on the other side of his neck. He tries once more to escape, using his weight to throw the vampire off him. She lands on her partner. He scrambles up again, running. 

They don’t give chase.

He collapses by a tree and tears two strips off his hanbok to stem the flow of blood. He creates a makeshift tourniquet on his arm, as Seoho taught him and wraps up his neck.

Now that his heartbeat had slowed, the pain truly decided to bloom. It was both sharp and dull, he couldn’t move his neck without crying out in pain. His arm slowly numbed. His fingers on his right hand grew cold. He can feel the blood seeping into his makeshift bandages. He’s struggling to stay awake.

When did it get so cold?

He wakes up, hearing someone saying something about the elements. He can hear horses as they speed up. He groans, his head is pounding. 

Something feels wrong. He doesn’t feel in control, his head is fuzzy. It’s as though he could stand, and his body wouldn’t follow through. He opens his eyes and it’s bright. Too bright. He has to close his eyes again. He tries moving his right arm, it’s so numb he’s sure it’s fallen off. Squinting, he can see that his arm is still connected to him and moving. He removes the fabric. Pins and needles take over his arm. 

He’s shivering.

He opens his eyes again.

It’s still too bright, but it burns his eyes a lot less. His neck is stiff and when he moves it, it feels like something is going to tear. He’s hisses in pain and removes the makeshift bandage, it’s stiff, crusty and covered in dried up blood.

He’s craving something, he just can’t tell what.

He pushes himself off the ground onto unsteady feet. His ankle gives way and he’s back on the ground. He can feel the wound on his neck reopen. He can see someone coming towards him, he tries to call out for help, but his throat is so raw his calls come out hoarse and barely audible. The person takes one look at him before speeding up and leaving him behind. He can only stare at the person retreating form. 

Still, on the ground, he cries. Small, silent sobs that he desperately tries to suppress. He’s on the ground, covered in blood, dirt and tears, he doesn’t think it is possible to sink any lower than he feels. He curls up and hugs his legs, hiding his face from the world.

He’s completely drained by the time he’s stopped crying. He forces himself to stand, his legs even more unsteady than earlier. The fuzziness in his head is stronger.

He tries to find his things, trying to trace his steps. They’re nowhere to be found, as he wanders the road with steady steps and a limp.

The craving is growing.

The fog in his mind is growing. He can barely see now, despite it being midday. Everything’s numb, he doesn’t own his body.

Next thing he knows, he has fangs sunk into a boar. Blood floods his mouth. He pulls out, blood flowing out his mouth and feels his teeth. There’re fangs, sharp ones. He stops breathing and runs, he doesn’t know where to, he just needs to run.

No matter how fast you run, you can never outrun yourself.

He tries to suppress his craving. He avoids the animals in the area, he avoids people like the plague, he doesn’t know if he can live with himself if he hurts anyone.

He can no longer go back to Seoho.

He can’t trust himself to not hurt him. Not when he blacks out and no longer has control over his actions. Not when he wakes up with the taste of iron lingering in his mouth. Not when he’s a monster. Seoho can get everything he owns. He’ll be able to move on, live a full life. Get a wife who can support him.

He doesn’t need to live with a monster.

Geonhak finds himself in the mountains, away from anyone he can harm. He’s almost always in a constant state of craving. It’s only until he loses control of his body that he eats. His body quite simply isn’t letting him die.

He finally has control again; the poor animal is dead in his arms. Like always, it feels like a waste, to leave the body. He should be able to eat more than blood, he prays he can eat more than blood. He starts a fire, skins the poor thing and cooks some over the fire. He doesn’t have anything to season it with, but it still tastes fine. 

He also doesn’t have anything to help preserve the meat. He just cooks it and hopes for the best. 

The meat does delay the amount of time between his blackouts.

It’s been half a year now, he still stays in the mountains, he’s found an abandoned house to live in. It’s a cold existence, where the only bright side is the only time, he loses control is when he’s close to death. 

He talks to Seoho on a daily basis, as well as a brother he never knew he had. He can never hold them; they shy away from his touch. He doesn’t even know why Seoho is here or why he’s accepted the fact that he’s a vampire.

Seoho wants him to go home.

He keeps insisting he can’t. He wouldn’t be allowed in the city. He’s no longer a welcome member of society. He can’t go back.

There’s a storm. A blizzard, with wind that shakes the walls.

There’s a pounding on the door.

A hunter stands outside. Snow clings to his hat, hair and clothes. Geonhak considers not helping and shutting the door, however, he can’t let the other man die. So, he lets him in and he warms himself by the fireplace. Geonhak stands away from the hunter, wary. He gives short replies to the hunter’s questions.

The hunter introduced himself as Park Kwangsoo, and despite his best efforts, Geonhak does warm up to him and starts talking more. He keeps the conversation focused away from himself and more on his guest, who is more than happy to talk about himself. He does ask questions about Geonhak every now and again and seems satisfied with his short answers. 

The hunter’s presence seems to melt the ice around Geonhak’s heart.

He stays the night. Geonhak doesn’t sleep, instead, he keeps an eye on the hunter. He doesn’t move the whole night; he snores and kicks in his sleep though.

The storm hasn’t calmed in the morning. Geonhak shares the last of his meat with the hunter. Kwangsoo stares at his neck, and Geonhak doesn’t like the look on his face. He looks like he’s looking for something. Kwangsoo asks more about Geonhak and is less satisfied with his short answers and tries to drag answers out of Geonhak, who eventually complies. Revealing that he’d been living completely alone after an attack, he was able to stop himself from admitting it was vampires, however, he feared the damage was done.

He nearly fell asleep multiple times throughout the day, having to slap himself to keep awake. 

The blizzard died down in the afternoon, according to Kwangsoo it wasn’t safe for him to leave, so Geonhak let him stay another night.

Try as he may, Geonhak couldn’t stay awake to watch Kwangsoo. He watches him fall asleep but falls asleep himself before he could hear snores.

He wakes up being manhandled, Kwangsoo is on his back, his hair is being pulled to expose his neck and he can feel a knife pressed against his throat. He throws Kwangsoo off, cutting himself in the process. Kwangsoo picks himself up and grabs the knife before Geonhak can get on his feet. He rushes Geonhak, knife pointed to his heart. Geonhak catches his arm, pins it behind him and knocks him to the ground. Kwangsoo tries to push him off, but Geonhak stays steady.

“Go ahead, kill me.” Geonhak has never heard so much poison in someone’s voice. He considers it, it would be easy enough physically. He’s ended many animal’s lives, and their lives are important, however, it’s different when it’s a person. In the end, he can’t do it. He can’t even put his fangs near him.

He kicks Kwangsoo out.

If the cold kills him, Geonhak isn’t to blame.

Kwangsoo left his bag of supplies. There are clean clothes that Geonhak changes into, it’s an uncomfortable fit, however, it’s infinitely better than what he had.

Once spring comes around, he leaves the mountain to go to Hanseong. Seoho was excellent at creating arguments and finally convinced him to return.

He is knackered by the time he knocks on the door. A stranger opened. Seoho doesn’t live there anymore. He apologises and explains that he got the wrong house.

Using the money, he got from Kwangsoo, he stays in an inn for the night. His sleep is restless, and he wakes up multiple times to the smallest noise. There are too many people here. 

He leaves Hanseong in the morning.

He’s at a loss at what to do and Seoho is no help, neither is his brother. 

For years he travels around, never really settling into anywhere or getting involved in the communities. He earns enough to have a roof over his head, mostly temporary, and to eat. He hunts. 

His brother and Seoho tread a thin line between existence and the void. 

Eventually, he finds himself back in the mountains. The house he once lived in is now burnt to the ground. He searches through the ruins; he doesn’t know what he’s looking for and he never finds it.

He moves into a town, talks enough to keep his brother at bay. He doesn’t get close to anyone. He knows the others are wary of him. They’re cold to him.

He moves around often. Travelling to cities and towns, surrounding himself with more and more cold people.

He loses track of how much time has passed. 

The 19th century is full of conflict, and while Geonhak isn’t proud of it, he moves to the mountains again once it gets too much for him. He knows he should defend his country, fight for what he believes in, but he’s not sure what he believes in. He doesn’t trust the people living here, he wants to, God knows he does, but his existence is cold.

He talks to the moon.

The moon doesn’t respond with words, she never does. However, things seem slightly warmer. Seoho looks up at the moon beside him, he still looks incredibly youthful, and he has his eye smile. He doesn’t talk, he hasn’t spoken much in years.

Years later he comes across a young man, he could barely be older than 20, with doe eyes and fluffy hair. He’s wrapped in a blanket. He looks so incredibly warm, and Geonhak has the strongest urge to protect him. He can’t explain why, but the way he looks up at him with sad at him makes him want to keep him safe from the cold in the world. 

It’s a waxing crescent moon.  
  



	4. Blacking Out Because of a Vampire is Worse Than Blacking Out Drunk (Keonhee)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keonhee is innocent.   
> Most of them are, to be frank, thrown into prison for crimes made up on the spot. Sure, he couldn’t pay the fine, but he never did anything to warrant being fined. Keonhee, for example, was fined for needless talent. How is a talent needless? How is it a crime?  
> He hears his inmate’s complaints; he knows about the growing unrest. He’s tried to write letters; he doesn’t think they’ve made it out of this building.  
> He knows why he’s here; he had a voice, people listened to him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For context, Jo Byeonggap is a corrupt official.  
> Anyway, have fun ^.^

Keonhee is innocent.   
Most of them are, to be frank, thrown into prison for crimes made up on the spot. Sure, he couldn’t pay the fine, but he never did anything to warrant being fined. Keonhee, for example, was fined for needless talent. How is a talent needless? How is it a crime?  
He hears his inmate’s complaints; he knows about the growing unrest. He’s tried to write letters; he doesn’t think they’ve made it out of this building.  
He knows why he’s here; he had a voice, people listened to him.   
So now he’s rotting in a prison for who knows how long. He doesn’t belong here. He shouldn’t be forced to look at the moon through bars that he was wrongfully put behind. She comforts him when the nights are dark, and the shadows are too long. When there are shadows where they don’t belong, and sleep evades him.  
The inmates are friendly enough, at least he’s found some friendly ones. They stick together and stay out of trouble. They can’t help when it’s dark. His closest friend is a small man called Yeo Hwanwoong.   
They share a cell. Hwanwoong is a nightmare to wake up in the mornings, Keonhee has never met someone so attached to their bed. He often has to drag Hwanwoong out of bed and he’s still half asleep once he’s up.   
Their food is spoilt, and the guards beat them for the smallest misdemeanour, or they look the other way when inmates are harassing each other. Keonhee has tried to use his height to his advantage to help protect Hwanwoong, but Hwanwoong doesn’t actually need him. He’s been able to stop fights before they happen and can hold his own ground.  
He doesn’t know how long he’s been in the prison; he’s lost track of time. However, he’s been here for a considerable amount of time when he hears shouting. The guards are running towards the source. He can hear gunshots and fighting. He’s frozen in place, unsure whether or not he should scream or run. There’s smoke, Hwanwoong pulls him to the ground and covers his mouth.   
There’s another gunshot and Keonhee screams. Hwanwoong puts his hand on his shoulder and Keonhee leans into his touch. He can see the flames licking the walls and some of the screams are dying out. Keonhee doesn’t want to think about the implications of that.   
There are people running around and freeing the prisoners. Their cell is opened and Hwanwoong grabs his upper arm to drag them out. Keonhee stumbles to his feet. There’s too much moving around him, too fast.   
He can hear cheers, shouts, screams. The smoke is thickening. He coughs and holds his sleeve over his nose. Hwanwoong also coughs. There’s a crowd. Dead bodies litter the ground. Keonhee screams as he nearly steps on one, holding onto Hwanwoong.  
He squeezes his eyes shut and trips over another body, bringing Hwanwoong down with him. He screams. He’s on the body. It’s still warm.  
“What are you doing?” Hwanwoong hisses.  
“I’m sorry.” He pushes himself up, the body is surprisingly stiff and Keonhee wipes his hand on his clothes trying to rid himself of the feeling. It doesn’t.  
People are pushing against each other. People are pressed into his back, shoving him into the crowd.  
There’s a sharp pain in his neck. He screams and Hwanwoong turns around. His eyes widen. The pain has dulled but he can feel blood. Hwanwoong jumps on the man behind him, punching him, his nose is bleeding. Keonhee drags him off and tries to pull them out.  
“He didn’t drink anything, right?” Hwanwoong asks, pulling Keonhee away from the crowd.  
“I don’t think so.” He genuinely doesn’t know; he doesn’t know how fast vampires can drink. He places his hand on the wound and checks for blood, there’s some but not a lot.  
“I hope that means you’re fine.” He stares intensely at Keonhee’s face, brows furrowed, “You’re really pale.”   
“I was just attacked.” He doesn’t mean to whine, he really doesn’t.  
“Let’s go somewhere safer.”  
He’s pulled along and they run away from the prison grounds. Is it safe to go home? Should they join the fight? They could rescue other people. They could stop Jo Byeonggap.  
Or they could leave.  
He doesn’t particularly want to fight. He’s not a fighter. He’s not even taking care of Hwanwoong despite being the older of the two. He doubts he could be much help to the fight.  
His head is getting fuzzy.  
Hwanwoong finds some water to try to clean the wound. He can barely feel it. He feels numb. Like his head and body aren’t connected. His legs are too long, yet not long enough. His head is heavy.  
“Are you ok?”  
His mind is full of pins and needles. It’s constantly moving, all while staying still. He’s moving while not moving.  
There’s screaming.  
He can taste iron.  
Pain blooms through his temple.  
Why is he on the ground?  
“What the fuck?” He’s never heard Hwanwoong this angry. Keonhee pales.  
There’s blood on Hwanwoong’s neck. Why is there blood? Where did the blood come from? Why is Hwanwoong glaring at him like this?   
“What happened?” Keonhee’s voice is broken.  
“What happened?” Hwanwoong looks like he’s five seconds from beating Keonhee up. His fists are ready, and he’s got his knee on Keonhee’s chest.  
“You attacked me!”   
Keonhee wouldn’t, Hwanwoong is his best friend. He can’t possibly hurt him. He couldn’t. He can’t.  
“I didn’t!”  
“What do you mean you didn’t! Look at my neck!” Sure enough, there’s a bite mark. There’s a bite mark that wasn’t there earlier. It’s new and there’s blood coming out.  
Keonhee doesn’t know what to say, he… he always knows what to say. He’s good at talking, that’s his thing. He’s a mouth. He doesn’t know what to say now. He opens and closes his mouth, desperately searching for the words to make this better. To explain himself. What is there to explain? He doesn’t even remember attacking Hwanwoong. He’s the only person here, it had to be him, but it wasn’t him.  
“I’m going, don’t follow me.”  
He can’t leave him. Keonhee still needs to repay him for sticking with him in prison. Keonhee can’t lose his best friend.  
“Wait!” He doesn’t wait.  
Keonhee runs after him, his long legs giving him an advantage and he catches up. He grabs Hwanwoong’s arm.  
“I really don’t remember biting you. I just - I couldn’t control my body.” He tries to explain, hoping Hwanwoong would believe him. He stays silent, his eyes carry a blazing fire, and he tries to pull his arm away.  
“Please, you’re my best friend, I can’t let you leave like this.” Keonhee is crying, he isn’t going to be ashamed of that. He’s not sobbing, yet, but he can feel the tears falling down his face.   
Hwanwoong’s eyes are glazing over.  
“Does your head feel fuzzy?”   
Hwanwoong nods. Keonhee scoops him up without any protest. He doesn’t want Hwanwoong to lose control. He can’t let Hwanwoong lose control. Not like he did. Maybe if he doesn’t let him get out of control, he wouldn’t turn into a vampire.  
Hopefully, that’s how it works.  
Hwanwoong starts thrashing, trying to wiggle out of his arms. His eyes are empty. He’s biting the air, clawing at Keonhee’s arms. Keonhee runs, trying to get away from anybody who could see them. Despite how small he is, he’s hard to contain.  
Hwanwoong bites Keonhee, he cries out in pain and runs faster, hoping to outrun this nightmare. His vision is blurry through his tears and his head is getting fuzzy again. His legs are unsteady, but he pushes on. He tries to fight the fog, grasping onto the thin thread of control he has. He pushes through and runs.   
He never knew it would be so weird to feel blood being sucked out. Every nerve is on fire and he nearly falls.  
Hwanwoong goes limp in Keonhee’s arms. He stops to try to feel for a pulse, his breathing frantic. There’s a pulse. It’s weak but steady.  
Keonhee holds him closer and continues running. The fog is growing stronger. His heart is beating too fast. His arms are burning.   
He can see the base of a mountain in the distance. He finally lets himself rest, he holds Hwanwoong close, running his fingers through his hair. Keonhee’s sobbing.   
He holds Hwanwoong’s limp body for a considerable time, almost ten minutes if he had to guess, worrying building itself up and taking over his body.  
“Let go of me.” He hears Hwanwoong groan, pushing Keonhee’s arms away.  
“You’re ok!” He hugs Hwanwoong who pushes against him, before letting him go.  
“Why wouldn’t I be?” He looks around. “Where are we?”  
“You lost control.”  
He may be crying, he doesn’t know. Hwanwoong is ok. His best friend is ok.  
“Did I-” He gestures to Keonhee’s left bite mark, where the blood has not long dried and solidified. While he normally is short, he looks even smaller now. Keonhee nods, unsure of whether or not he should speak.   
No one speaks.  
“I’m sorry.” Even Hwanwoong’s voice is small.   
The fog takes over.  
For a month, the fog is a constant, it lingers in their bodies, in their minds, pulling them under without warning. It waxes and wanes, almost like the moon, but with no predictable pattern. They hold each other when they can, afraid that they’ll never escape the fog. They hold each other through the snow, shivering together to keep warm. The moon bathes them in her cold light. They travel north.  
The fog clears.   
The fangs feel foreign, his mouth doesn’t feel like it belongs to him. His body is physically unchanged, yet it doesn’t feel like his anymore, it’s like something is possessing it, it’s just letting him steer the ship for the time being. His mouth feels dry like he’s dehydrated and none of his attempts can fix it.  
They don’t know where the nearest town is, the terrain is new. The ground feels wrong under their feet and Keonhee doesn’t know how to take care of Hwanwoong when he’s so hopelessly lost himself. They’re near a lake or reservoir, they’re not entirely sure of which. There’s a river, he decides to take them down, there should be a town or a village nearby.  
He doesn’t know what the people there would think of them, but their survival would depend on this. They need flasks and somewhere to keep warm in these cold winter months. Hwanwoong has been coughing more frequently the past few days and he’s pale. Keonhee’s also been coughing and sniffling. He’s nowhere near as bad as Hwanwoong, he just misses the days when he could breathe through his nose.  
They find a village and Keonhee has never been gladder to find people. He searches for a doctor, not even thinking about how he’ll pay for it, he’ll figure that out later, he just needs to get Hwanwoong safe. Thankfully, the scar has healed, so no one should be able to figure out their secrets.  
Hwanwoong is coughing violently and he’s so hot to the touch. He’s like fire, burning up.  
The actual doctor is out, however his apprentice takes them in. He greets them with an eye smile that looks like moon crescents.  
Keonhee explains that he can’t pay, but he’ll do anything to keep Hwanwoong alive. Hwanwoong is clinging onto him at this point, sweating and pale. He feels clammy to the touch. The apprentice just waves off the topic of payment.   
The apprentice prepares a bed and a cup of tea, with herbs in it. He’s not told which ones. Keonhee coughs and ignores the look the apprentice gives him.  
Hwanwoong is out not long after finishing his tea. He snores.  
Keonhee sits by his side, running his fingers through Hwanwoong’s hair. It feels dirty and needs to be combed, however, that is a worry for another day. For now, they just had to focus on staying alive. He had to focus on keeping them safe. He can keep them safe.  
“I haven’t seen you around before.” The apprentice says, preparing another cup of tea. He passes it over to Keonhee who drinks it. He can’t describe the taste, it’s weird, somewhat pleasant while also not being pleasant. It’s sweet and bitter at the same time.  
“It’s a long story.” How does he explain his situation?   
The apprentice nods and doesn’t ask for an explanation.   
Keonhee continues drinking his tea as the apprentice goes through the oils. He gets a strong-smelling one and dabs it on Hwanwoong. It helps to clear Keonhee’s nose as well. He continues to run his fingers through Hwanwoong’s hair, and he hopes that he’ll get better.  
It’s deathly quiet.  
“I’m Lee Keonhee.”  
“Lee Seoho.” Interesting.  
“We have the same surname!” He probably should be more formal, however, he didn’t exactly think much before he spoke. Thankfully, Seoho isn’t offended and just smiles at him.  
“Do you think Hwanwoong will be better soon doctor?” He can’t help the worry that seeps into his voice, as he looks up to Seoho.  
“I’m not a doctor yet, but yes he should, given that he rests well and takes his medicine.” He turns his attention to another patient, who’s still fast asleep.   
“You should also rest.” Seoho doesn’t turn around as he speaks.  
“How should we pay you?” Keonhee can’t not pay him.  
“You don’t need to. It's a learning experience, Kim sunbaenim would understand.” He seems so sure in his words that Keonhee can’t help but to believe him. He lays down beside Hwanwoong, and shuts his eyes, hoping sleep comes quickly.   
He listens to Hwanwoong’s breathing, and soon his own breath mellows out. 


	5. Tada! A wild Seoho appears! (Hwanwoong)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything is stuffy. He’s struggling to breathe, and his body is too warm. Like there’s a fire burning him up from the inside. His fingers and feet are frozen while everything else burns. He wants to throw up but when he tries nothing comes up. He’s leaning on Keonhee more often than he’d like to admit.
> 
> He doesn’t know what his feet are doing, he’s walking, probably. Maybe Keonhee’s holding him. He tries walking on his own. He thinks. He can’t really tell. 
> 
> He’s freezing.
> 
> He’s burning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hwanwoong's POV lads, we're nearly at the actual storyline ^^  
> This may have to take a brief hiatus soon though, because of winter break so I won't have the same access to my beta readers.

Everything is stuffy. He’s struggling to breathe, and his body is too warm. Like there’s a fire burning him up from the inside. His fingers and feet are frozen while everything else burns. He wants to throw up but when he tries nothing comes up. He’s leaning on Keonhee more often than he’d like to admit.

He doesn’t know what his feet are doing, he’s walking, probably. Maybe Keonhee’s holding him. He tries walking on his own. He thinks. He can’t really tell. 

He’s freezing.

He’s burning.

He wakes up in a bed with Keonhee. He feels so stiff and everything hurts. He can breathe, sort of, which is a bonus he didn’t expect to have.

When did they get here?

“How are you feeling?” He doesn’t recognise the voice. 

“Awful.” His voice is hoarse, and it pains him to speak. He’s given a cup of tea and some medicine; he can’t taste either of the two. The tea soothes his throat and provides him with a gentle warmth. 

The place is very clean, and other than Keonhee and him there’s two other people, one person in a bed, and a tall man preparing his herb kit. He’s assuming he’s the local doctor, but he didn’t know they were in a town. When did they get here?

Keonhee stirs beside him, before he sits up, rubbing his eyes. 

They bathe, cleaning the dirt from their skin. Hwanwoong gets help from both Keonhee and the doctor as he still has incredibly unsteady legs and gets lightheaded very quickly. He’s shepherded back into bed as soon as he’s dried off. 

He’s woken up and given more medicine and some food, he eats as much as he can. The doctor stares at him as he eats. He looks over at the patient in the bed, who’s asleep. 

“You’re a vampire, aren’t you?” His voice is low.

Hwanwoong freezes.

The doctor nods and leaves the building. Where’s Keonhee? They have to leave. Now. How were they found out so quickly?

The doctor returns with a cup. He passes it silently over to Hwanwoong. It’s blood. He’s sure of it, it’s thick and a deep red. Where did the doctor get this?

“It’s not poisoned.” 

Hwanwoong drinks it, it doesn’t taste of anything, but it feels weird. It’s not as thick as he would imagine blood to be. 

“Keonhee is one too, right?” Hwanwoong nods, he’s been rendered speechless. It’s also at this point when Keonhee returns. 

“You have a moustache.” Keonhee stares intensely at his upper lip, before raising a brow, Hwanwoong gestures with his head over to the doctor. He then turns his attention to the doctor.

“Seoho?”

So, the doctor was called Seoho. He just smiles, and sure enough, he has fangs. Hwanwoong can’t say he was expecting this. Keonhee starts speaking but Hwanwoong can’t really hear him. Is this some kind of fever dream? Have the past few days even been real?

He needs a nap.

He’s woken up later and given medicine. 

“I’ve found us a place to stay.” Hwanwoong isn’t awake enough for this and Keonhee’s voice rings in his ears. 

“How?” 

“Seoho-nim and I share a family name so we’re pretending to be cousins, so he’s just helping out family by letting us stay with him.” Did Keonhee really make them a charity case?

“So, we’re moving in with him.” Keonhee ignores the daggers Hwanwoong sends his way.

“He suggested it. Doesn’t like how empty the house is.” 

At least he’s not entirely a charity case, however, he’s not sure how much he likes this. He doesn’t know Seoho at the end of the day. How can he help two strangers like this? What does he expect in return? Surely, he can’t just expect nothing in return. He’s not sure how this is going to work in the long run.

However, he’s not exactly in a position to complain really, after all, they don’t have anywhere to go, they don’t know where they are or anyone else, and he seems to have this whole vampire thing down.

Seoho takes them to his house. It’s small and the three of them there will be a tight squeeze, it’s better than nothing. Hwanwoong is laid to rest and given tea. He still can’t taste it, but it makes him feel a lot better. It’s warm.

His eyes are heavy, and someone runs their fingers through his hair so he’s out fast. 

Next time he’s awake he’s in less pain and he feels stronger. He does, however, wake up to Keonhee kicking him. He sits up and the world doesn’t spin around. It’s dark and he can feel an arm roughly around his waist. 

“How are you feeling?” Why is Seoho still awake? Though, frankly, Hwanwoong muses, a better question would be why is he awake? All he needs to do is sleep and get better.  
“Better.” His voice feels less hoarse.

“That’s good.” He can hear footsteps coming towards him and Seoho places a hand on his forehead. His face is unreadable.

“Your temperature’s gone down.” He brushes the hair off Hwanwoong’s forehead before settling down on the other side of Hwanwoong.

He always thought vampires would be cold, however, he’s roasting sandwiched between the two vampires. Seoho doesn’t cuddle up to him like Keonhee does, he leaves an unspoken invisible line that no one dares to cross. The act that some of his hair has crossed the line does feel like a violation of the boundaries that they had set. 

This time he struggles to sleep, he stares at the ceiling, there’s nothing remarkable about it. He plays with Keonhee’s hand, pulling the fingers back as far as they will go before letting them drop down.

Keonhee mumbles something but doesn’t wake up properly, so Hwanwoong continues playing. The night is silent, he can just hear breathing. He changes his attention to Keonhee’s nails. They’re long enough to bend. 

He falls asleep to a dreamless sleep. 

In the morning Keonhee is the one to give him tea and explain that Seoho is currently at work. The tea has a taste now, it’s nice.

Keonhee asks him how he feels and smiles once he finds out Hwanwoong is doing much better. He then explains how he found them a job on the farm in the spring. Or at least when they could work the ground. 

Hwanwoong freshens up, and Keonhee takes him out to explore the place, so that he can hopefully feel less restless, and learn his way around. They visit Seoho, who’s still working by himself. He tells Hwanwoong to go back to bed and rest, so Keonhee takes Hwanwoong back to the house.

Hwanwoong recovers over the next few days and is given more freedom to move around. Seoho is able to provide everything that they need, and he’s still asked for nothing in return. He doesn’t even explain himself when Hwanwoong asks him about it. Keonhee just assumes that he’s just friendly.

Spring comes quickly and Keonhee and Hwanwoong finally are able to help bring in an income. The hours are long tending to the crops and animals and require a lot more strength than Hwanwoong expected. He enjoys it and there’s always something to do. 

They befriend some of the other farmers, they’re friendly enough and work well together. They help the time pass by quickly and welcome Keonhee and Hwanwoong into the community. They ask Keonhee about Seoho, especially when Seoho is on a home visit in a neighbouring village. Hwanwoong doesn’t know how they thought Keonhee would know how Seoho is when they weren’t sent any messages. Keonhee talks to them with ease, as though he’s known them his entire life. 

Seoho becomes a proper doctor the following autumn and subsequently, his schedule grows more packed and his singing is rarer. 

They spend many years there. They watch as the people around them grow older, they witness multiple funerals and weddings. Life around them changes constantly, yet their bodies remain mostly unchanged. 

They move out, travelling north to Daejeon. The journey is long, and they don’t talk much outside of their breaks.

“What was it like when you first became a vampire?” Keonhee is lying across Hwanwoong’s lap as he looks up to Seoho.

“Dad threw me into a river, so very cold.” Seoho looks off into the distance and Hwanwoong’s about to speak when Seoho continues, “I had someone take me in as well. He probably wasn’t a murderer, but he was way too trusting.”

“Doesn’t that mean you’re also too trusting?” Hwanwoong asks, after all, Seoho did the same thing as his friend.

“As if you could cause anyone any harm.” Seoho laughs, Hwanwoong scowls at him.

“Say goodbye to your kneecaps.” Both Keonhee and Seoho laugh, Hwanwoong bites Keonhee. He shrieks and tries to bite back but Hwanwoong pushes him off his lap. Seoho is still laughing so Hwanwoong goes to bite him, Seoho gets up and starts running, so Hwanwoong gives up on it. He can bite Seoho later when he won’t run away.

They settle down in Daejeon with relative ease, Keonhee still using the story that he’s related to Seoho. Hwanwoong is just a third wheel in their story at this point.

Over time they find out that the friend was called Geonhak, that he was a musician and one day he disappeared. He was most likely attacked, but Seoho couldn’t find a body or other trace of him over the years. It’s been years and there’s still no closure, Hwanwoong thinks of his own parents. They’re in the same boat as Seoho right now, their only son disappeared without any trace. He doesn’t want to dwell on that thought for too long, but it haunts him at night as he tries to sleep. He tosses and turns until he gives up and heads outside to look at the moon. It’s in its last quarter. 

They’ve got a long future ahead of them, how many more people will they leave behind? How many stories will be cut off with no satisfying ending? 

He feels so small, he’s supposedly a feared creature and yet nothing has changed but his diet. His life feels directionless, are they really meant to constantly move around, never to truly have a place to call home? He knows Seoho is doing his best to make the places they move into feel like home, keeping some of the same decorations, anything small that they can easily carry around with them, it works sometimes. Sometimes he can forget that the faces around them are unfamiliar, that they have to get accepted into this new community only to leave again.

The moon is the same here as it is anywhere else, the one true constant he knows will never change. Seoho and Keonhee are constants, but for how long? The world around them is changing so much.  
The moon is beautiful. 

He goes back inside once the chill gets too much. Instead of going to sleep by himself, he crawls beside Keonhee, who is still fast asleep. Despite this, Hwanwoong very quickly finds himself tangled up in Keonhee’s limbs. It’s grounding, in a way, doesn’t mean he won’t complain about it in the morning. 

Over the next few days, they notice more and more displaced soldiers, men who once served the garrison, now without a job. They don’t know how they can help. No one does, they can just feel the resentment rising. Over the next few years, more changes take place, there is a stronger Japanese presence. He read in the news about the war up in Seoul. The farmers are angry and rightfully so, having to work harder with no increase in pay.

Then 1910 happens.

Japan has control.

Taxes and rent increases. The three of them can feel the strain and they have three incomes. Hwanwoong can’t imagine how those with one income were struggling. Seoho sometimes has patients in the house as they can't pay for healthcare, they can’t get as good care as they would in the hospital, but it’s better than nothing. Hwanwoong is used to running around trying to get something to help them by now.

Hwanwoong is exhausted as he goes to sleep. 

A couple of years later they decide to make a big move, up to Gyeongseong, (previously Hanseong). They don’t want to be in the city itself, but somewhere nearby. Seoho is the one who pushes for this move, he doesn’t explain why.

So, they pack their belongings and make the journey. They can’t afford a car, so they have to make the journey on foot. They have a tent.

The first day goes quite well, everyone has high spirits, and they don’t take too many breaks, their bags, however, weigh them down. They’ve carried as much as they could, including the small decorations. By the time they have their camp set up, Hwanwoong goes to sleep.

He’s woken up with a joint effort, Keonhee is being loud while Seoho shakes him. He groans and tries to go back to sleep but they quite simply won’t let him.

They take more breaks today; the blood flask is almost empty. Still, they joke around as they walk. When they set up camp, everyone goes to sleep as soon as possible, and Hwanwoong finds himself sandwiched between the two.

Hwanwoong is stiff when he wakes up. Again, it’s a joint effort to wake him up. Every step he takes as they walk feels like he’s forcing his legs to take on the weight of a building. The bags feel like they’re only growing in weight. Everything hurts, but they carry on, taking multiple breaks. 

They set up camp earlier tonight. Hwanwoong’s back feels like it’s breaking, they get to talk and relax. However, they don’t talk for long before Hwanwoong is out for the night.

The fourth day is the most challenging so far. Everyone’s tired and their muscles are in pain. Hwanwoong just wants to sleep for a month, but a week will suffice. They shouldn’t have much further to go. He hopes they don’t have much further to go. He’ll never let Seoho talk him into another big move like this. Not one where they have to walk such a distance, it’s too much.

Keonhee looks worse for wear. He doesn’t know how to describe it, but it’s something in his eyes. Seoho is the least affected, despite him carrying the most.

They set up camp, Seoho cooks and Hwanwoong tries to comfort Keonhee by hugging him. Keonhee melts. They also decide over dinner that Keonhee should be in the middle of the sandwich. 

They sleep in the next morning, heading out when the sun is almost in the middle of the sky. Despite the extra rest they’ve had, they don’t speak much, and their pace is generally quite slow.

At dusk, they hear voices. Seoho whips his head around to the general direction and peers into the distance, there’s a group of three people who are coming their direction. Seoho gets closer to the group, listening intensely. All Hwanwoong can tell is their heights, two are roughly the same height while one is shorter.

They get close enough to make out details and Seoho freezes, Hwanwoong and Keonhee get closer, ready to defend Seoho if need be. 

The two taller men also freeze while the one that resembles a doe continues going forward until he realises, he isn’t being followed. 

“Gunmin?”

The moon is in her first quarter.


	6. We don't talk about this chapter (I will cry, this is a threat) (Dongju)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dongju grew up with his own built-in best friend. Someone who understands him better than anyone else in the world. No matter what the world throws at him, he has a built-in support system. 
> 
> When he was bullied by the older children, Dongmyeong was there to stand up for him, and to comfort him. They share a friend group, Dongmyeong’s friends were quick to take Dongju in and to care for him like a brother.
> 
> In all his childhood memories, Dongmyeong is there, and Dongju wouldn’t have it any other way. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: Death  
> Anyway, Losing You - Wonho started playing as I was writing this and I c r i e d. Good song, give it a listen while you read this.  
> Have fun ^^

Dongju grew up with his own built-in best friend. Someone who understands him better than anyone else in the world. No matter what the world throws at him, he has a built-in support system. 

When he was bullied by the older children, Dongmyeong was there to stand up for him, and to comfort him. They share a friend group, Dongmyeong’s friends were quick to take Dongju in and to care for him like a brother.

In all his childhood memories, Dongmyeong is there, and Dongju wouldn’t have it any other way. 

So, when they’re 18 and their parents die in the fire, the twins turn to each other. With the help of their friends, they bury the charred remains of their parents. Giwook visits on an almost daily basis, an impressive feat considering that their family had long since moved to a quaint house in the forest to start their own farm. 

Harin helps them to rebuild the house when he is free. 

Dongju holds Dongmyeong when he cries, when Dongmyeong can’t work on repairs because it hurts too much, Dongju is there to hold his hand and remind him that they’re keeping their parent’s legacy alive. That their parents loved the farm and them.

Dongju finds out Harin is an excellent hugger.

When they finish repairs on the house, they invite their friends over. The food they eat isn’t great but the company is. Yonghoon is also an excellent hugger (and crier), and he promises to help out on the farm whenever he can. They don’t judge when either of the twins cry, however, Dongju will deny that he ever did cry. Not to his twin, he can’t lie to his twin.

They’ve worked on the farm for years, but now that he’s parents aren’t running things behind the scenes, it’s tough. They work together to figure out what to do and make their mistakes together. The farm struggles for the first year, while Dongmyeong was getting lessons on how to run the farm as the elder son, the two of them are highly experienced. They’re reaching out in the dark searching for answers.

Giwook is a lifesaver, providing them with desperately needed supplies they simply cannot afford. Even if he brings nothing, his company is a huge comfort to the twins, especially Dongmyeong.

Giwook stops bringing newspapers, claiming that the Japanese have control over the media, so he doesn’t trust whatever is in there to be accurate. Apparently, the twins are lucky to still have their farm, even if the ridiculously high taxes threaten that statement. They’re just thankful that their harvest was great that year.

Their first Chuseok is full of tears. Dongmyeong tries his hardest to make sure that the holiday runs as smoothly as possible. Giwook visits a few days before to make sure that they’re ok and to bring gifts. The twins give him fresh fruits and thank him for everything he’s done for them. They bring gifts to each of their friends. 

The twins make songpyeon together. It’s ok but has nothing on the one they made with their parents. They sleep in the same bed that night, unable to be by themselves and so they find comfort in each other.

Dongmyeong pushes Dongju out of bed in the morning to wake him up. Dongju tries to bite him. 

They visit their parents grave to hold their charye service and to tend to the graves, making sure there are no weeds. They leave offerings and head back home. They don’t have a fancy meal, and games aren’t always easy to play with just two people, however, they make do. Dongmyeong makes Dongju smile for the first time in a long time.

As the nights grow colder, their work gets harder. Their first winter without their parents is harsh and cruel. 

January 10th comes round, and Dongju curls up and cries into Dongmyeong’s shoulder. He misses his mum’s cooking; he misses how their parents made their birthday special. He doesn’t want to have to figure everything out already. 

At least he still has his twin, he doesn’t have to do this alone. They can figure out where to go from here together. He knows, lying in his brother’s arms, that no matter what they’ll always be together.

Time makes it easier, as, by the time for planting comes around, they have a greater understanding on what to do, they’ve figured out how they work, they find Dongmyeong is better with people, considering people don’t tend to see him as being cold, while Dongju is better at management and making sure everything is done on time.

Dongmyeong learns to cook for Dongju, he sucks at first. The food is burnt, noodles are like rubber and the vegetables are bland. Dongju eats everything that he’s given, doing his best to encourage him, he praises him whenever something works out. However, schooling his face to not betray his disgust is probably as difficult as eating the food.

He does notice an improvement, thankfully. It goes from burnt to overcooked, to undercooked (Dongju feels like he’s going to die) to just right. The day that happens Dongju celebrates, cheering his brother on and hugging him. 

The noodles are still rubber.

They cuddle up when the nights are cold, Dongju threatens to throw Dongmyeong outside into the cold when he mentions it. 

In late February, Dongju catches a cold. He can’t afford a doctor; they barely have enough money to keep their farm. He knows he can’t hide this from his twin, Dongmyeong has a sixth sense regarding him, he’ll find out within the day. 

Sure enough, as soon as Dongmyeong sees him, he sends him back to bed with a cup of tea. Dongju is just able to convince him to not get a doctor unless his condition gets worse. Still, Dongmyeong dotes on him throughout the day, making sure he has everything he could possibly need, all while taking care of the farm. 

When Dongju asks why he’s trying so hard to take care of him, Dongmyeong simply replies with, “I gotta take care of my baby brother.”

Dongju bites him for that.

Dongmyeong cooks soup with plenty of vegetables and gives him more tea. The soup is warm, and nothing is overcooked, those were the only good things Dongju could say about it, admittedly, his taste is off. 

Everything feels off, his head is sore and stuffy and despite the blankets Dongmyeong has wrapped him in, he’s shivering. It’s hard to breathe and he sniffles often. 

As the sun falls, Dongmyeong crawls into bed with him, despite his protests. However, Dongmyeong is warm while Dongju isn’t, so he put his cold hands on Dongmyeong’s neck. He yelps. Dongju just giggles.

Dongju recovers quickly, so they never have to get a doctor. Dongju goes back to helping as quickly as possible, refusing to listen to Dongmyeong’s protests. He wasn’t going to let his twin do all the work. He notices that some of their animals have bite marks, that no one can explain. Dongmyeong hasn’t seen anyone in the area, however, he noticed them while Dongju was sick.

Dongju yells at him for not telling him sooner, while Dongmyeong claims he didn’t want to stress him out while he was still ill.

They don’t have enough money for any protective measures, so they take turns monitoring the cows. Dongju wraps himself in blankets as he watches, he takes first shift as, according to his twin, he is a nightmare to wake up. The moonlight bathes the farm in a soft cool light, it’s hard to see and the shadows moving in the surrounding forests is enough to spook him. Still, he keeps a close eye until his shift is over and he can wake his twin up. 

He’s out as soon as his head touches the pillow, dreaming of his parents.

He hits Dongmyeong with his pillow as he tries to wake him up, complaining that he needs more sleep. Unfortunately, Dongmyeong is persistent and he’s forced out into the cold with his blankets to keep an eye on their animals.

Nothing happens and Dongju nearly falls asleep multiple times in the beginning, his eyelids are incredibly heavy. He just wants to sleep. 

The sky starts to grow lighter, signalling the end of his shift, he pushes Dongmyeong out of bed and clambers in, ignoring the protests of how that isn’t his bed.

He’s just thankful that he can sleep.

They don’t notice anything over the next few months, Dongju surprisingly isn’t the one to sleep on the job and instead has to wake Dongmyeong in the morning, nagging that Dongmyeong will get sick. It’s only April, it’s still chilly. 

His immune system is terrifyingly impressive, despite sleeping outside on the cold ground, he doesn’t get sick. He’s stiff and complains the whole day, but other than that, he’s mostly unaffected, a matter Dongju complains about at length. How dare he sleep outside and be fine?

It’s absolutely disgusting. 

Still, they keep watch over the animals for a few months and nothing happens. The shadows are just a common feature he learns to deal with, they can be almost entertaining to watch, however, when watching a bunch of sleeping animals, anything is a welcome distraction. Not that the animals aren’t cute, but nothing other than the occasional tail-flick or leg twitch ever happens and he needs something.

He sings to the moon; he sings to the shadows. He knows the moon is listening, he knows she’ll always appreciate it. If the shadows are listening, he hopes they enjoy it. 

One day, he finds out his twin enjoys it, he claims it helps him to sleep. Dongmyeong joins him and sings around the farm as well, helping to pass the time as they work tirelessly. Dongju mainly just sings to the moon, content to just listen to his twin during the day.

The summer is long, the sun beats down on them, their clothes reek of sweat by the time evening comes round, they bully each other for the smell. Dongju finds that they both hate doing laundry. 

They’re lucky with another plentiful harvest.

Time numbs them to the pain. They honour their parents; they don’t cry while doing so. They don’t watch over the animals over the winter, the nights are too long and cold for them to do so. They just inspect them in the morning.

There’s a shortage of rice in Japan, and so, they have to grow more. They don’t exactly have much space to do so. Dongju spies his twin pacing more often, he starts biting his nails. A terrible habit considering the amount of dirt that builds up after a day of work.

Their friends help out on the farm sometimes, in return, they help them with errands when they’re free to do so. They go to bed exhausted and sometimes, hungry. Sometimes it’s simply because they can’t afford to eat much, sometimes it’s because Dongmyeong is simply too tired to cook. Dongju never shames him for that. 

They don’t start watching the animals again. Thankfully they don’t notice anything amiss and none of them are injured. Dongju can’t be more thankful as having to sacrifice food and sleep is too much to ask of him. 

Dongju doesn’t have a lot of nails left to bite. They never get the chance to grow as any growth is either bitten off or broken. It makes his hands look small. Somehow, due to some forces beyond their control probably, Dongmyeong had nice nails. Obviously, this means Dongju has to accuse him of not working.

Before they know it, it’s winter again. They just turned 21, when, while inspecting the animals Dongju finds a bite mark. He runs to tell Dongmyeong, the two are unsure as to what to do. After all, they can’t stay out all night, not with the snow. It’s too cold, and yet they can’t leave their animals unguarded. 

Dongju should have made a plan for when this happens. He should have known that this was going to happen. 

They really can’t afford to do anything, Dongju suggests that they do irregular checks so that they can try to prevent any injury without freezing to death. If the culprit doesn’t know to expect them, they’d have an easier time catching them, right? 

He has to hope so.

As expected, they’ve been visited multiple times, unfortunately, they haven’t been caught. Whatever it was, it was intelligent. It seemed to know the right times to strike to not get caught.

Until Dongju was in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

There’s a man, biting one of the chickens. They hold eye contact, both frozen. Dongju screams, running to get his twin. He’s pulled back by his hair. The front door opens. Fangs sink into his neck. He hits the vampire multiple times to no avail. 

He’s faint. His heart is beating a million times per second. 

He collapses to the ground, holding onto his neck. Dongmyeong is shouting, someone’s running. He’s being cradled. Tears land on his face. His mind is foggy, and his instincts are yelling at him to put distance between him and his twin. He crawls away, he doesn’t have the strength in his legs to stand. 

Everything is fuzzy. Nothing feels right. Is he dying? 

When his brain goes clear, there’s a dead chicken in his hands. Dongmyeong is looking at him in terror. Alarms ring in his head. There’s the taste of blood lingering in his mouth.

He runs.

Dongmyeong chases him, they’re evenly matched so he can’t escape. He’s wrapped in a hug and brought down to the ground. He lands on his twin who’s sobbing.

“I can’t lose you too.” Dongmyeong manages to say in between sobs. There’s no moonlight to reflect his tears.

Dongju turns around to bury himself in his twin’s arms, he’s crying as well. They both stand up, staying in each other’s arms as they walk back home. Dongju leans on his twin, leeching as much heat from him as possible and making sure they don’t trip over anything on their walk back. He’s found that his vision has improved and despite the tears clouding his vision, he’s the only one who can see.

They stumble inside, never once letting go of each other. Dongju has a new wave of tears, loud and shameless. Dongmyeong just wipes his tears away and runs his fingers through his hair.

“You should bite me.” Dongmyeong’s voice was so steady and his eyes never wavered.

“What?” Dongju broke away from their cuddle. Everything was telling him not to, to run away before his twin can suggest something even more stupid.

“I said, you should bite me. So, you’re not doing this alone.” Dongju can’t understand how his voice is so steady, how he’s not terrified to be in his presence.

“I still have you. I’m not doing this alone.” His eyes water up and he’s preparing for a third wave of tears.

“And then I’ll grow old while you stay young. You’ve heard the stories. I’m not leaving you alone.” His voice breaks during his third sentence, his eyes watering.

He has a built-in support system, someone who’s always by his side. He doesn’t want his twin to sacrifice a normal life for him, but he also wants to be selfish and keep his twin by his side, so he never has to lose his best friend.

“Ok.” His voice is quiet, almost unsure. Everything about this feels off. He feels the fog set in. 

Dongmyeong hugs him tight. They’re both crying.

“You should do it now, while I’m still brave.” Now Dongju can hear the waver in his voice. He nods.

Dongju bites.

He takes a tiny sip. Blood tastes odd, and he can’t say that he’s a massive fan. How much blood does he have to drink? Does he have to drink any?

Then the fog takes over. His mind is trapped deep in his body, with no way of knowing what he’s doing.

When he comes to, Dongmyeong isn’t moving. His eyes are still open. He’s stiff and doesn’t respond to Dongju screaming his name. He feels blindly for a pulse. There isn’t any. Maybe vampires don’t have pulses. He feels for his own. It’s weak but very much there.

He screams.

A loud, heart-wrenching scream that he puts his full body into. He cradles his brother. His best friend since birth. His built-in support system. His pair. He’s a moon without his sun.

His tears do nothing to bring his twin back, yet they keep flowing without an end in the horizon. He’s empty, a void has just been formed in his heart.

He shuts his twin’s eyes and is about to scream again when he hears someone enter the house. He tries to hold back his tears, but the dam has already been opened and it won’t shut without a fight, a fight Dongju doesn’t physically have in him. He looks up, it’s a tall man with gentle eyes and fluffy hair.

“I didn’t mean to.” The words feel disgusting as if that could justify that he killed his sun, he killed the one person who was never meant to leave his side. Nothing could justify that, nothing can redeem him, nothing can bring his family back to him. 

Now he can rot in a jail cell for eternity, maybe that was his fate. Maybe that’s why he had his family ripped from him.

The stranger removes his shoes.

It’s a new moon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyway, this is a good point to take a hiatus as it finishes the introduction. From here on out, the chapters follow on from each other.  
> Due to going home for Christmas (I'm being safe about it, and I'm a student so it's allowed) I don't have easy access to my beta readers so I'm taking a brief hiatus until I can get chapters beta read again. (it shouldn't be too long ^^')


	7. A depressed 5 year old kidnaps a giant chick (Youngjo)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He tries to comfort the poor kid, he cooks for him, preparing dishes that he sees a somewhat positive reaction to, he also talks to him, about anything really, in an attempt to distract him. Even just for a moment. He never gets any conversation back, but he can see Dongju’s wide doe eyes staring intensely as he speaks. It feels incredibly awkward, as it’s essentially talking to himself, however, if it’s to help someone else, he’ll do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm back bitches and we're on the enemies to friends plotline  
> Other than the normal for this fic (blood, death mentions) there shouldn't be any trigger warnings.  
> Hope yous enjoy ^^

Like Dongju’s parents, Dongmyeong has to be buried in a public cemetery. They still try to give him a proper burial, with the correct offerings (three bowls of rice, vegetables and soups, three units of money and three pairs of shoes) and wash the body with incense water, and they put three spoonfuls of rice in the mouth.

Dongju doesn’t cry as they bury his brother. Their friend group offers their condolences, they give a eulogy each and promises to support Dongju. They don’t ask about Youngjo, and that suits Youngjo just fine.

Dongju doesn’t speak much, he doesn’t lose control often either, which is odd, because Youngjo can still remember how long it took for him to get full control of his body back. He also shies away from touch, as if he will get burnt if he touches someone else’s skin.

One of Dongju’s friends - Giwook, he learns - visits on a daily basis for the first month since the funeral, he’s perfectly content sitting in silence when Dongju doesn’t want to speak, however, it’s only when Giwook’s there that Youngjo actually hears him talk.

He teaches Dongju how to hunt. He finds that Dongju is more effective in the dark than Youngjo is, but Dongju doesn’t respond when he asks about it.

Youngjo has basically been given Dongju’s old bed, as he never sleeps there anymore. He’s seen Dongju holding his twin’s old pillows and blankets to his nose multiple times, Dongju hastily puts them away when he notices Youngjo. He still has one particular blanket wrapped around him, so it makes no sense why Dongju would even bother hiding the others.

He tries to comfort the poor kid, he cooks for him, preparing dishes that he sees a somewhat positive reaction to, he also talks to him, about anything really, in an attempt to distract him. Even just for a moment. He never gets any conversation back, but he can see Dongju’s wide doe eyes staring intensely as he speaks. It feels incredibly awkward, as it’s essentially talking to himself, however, if it’s to help someone else, he’ll do it.

Dongju spends Chuseok at the grave.

The harvest isn’t great that year, the crops haven’t been well tended to and so there’s not a lot, not enough to keep the farm.

They’re evicted. Dongju doesn’t say much about it, Youngjo promises to find them somewhere to live, and he does, it’s nearby and Dongju is able to bring all of Dongmyeong’s belongings. Despite wanting to avoid people, he didn’t want to force that on Dongju, he needs to be around people.

Dongju is in a delicate state.

Youngjo smiles when Dongju thanks him. His voice is quiet and hoarse from a lack of use, but it’s a start and Youngjo is more than happy to hear it. He would hug the boy, but he knows he’s still too raw, and he doesn’t want to push him farther than he will go.

He’s able to work enough to pay rent and to keep the home stable.

Youngjo wakes up one day to find Dongju missing, along with one of Dongmyeong’s blankets. He runs to the cemetery where they buried Dongmyeong, and sure enough, there’s Dongju. He’s cleaning the grave, still wrapped in the blanket and his eyes are shimmering.

Youngjo tries to gently take the blanket off, telling Dongju he doesn’t want to get it dirty, so they don’t have to clean it. Instead, Dongju holds onto the blanket tighter and he runs off.

Youngjo runs after him, but Dongju’s fast and Youngjo loses sight of him in the forest, while the forest is certainly smaller than what it used to be, it’s still a big place to get lost.

He calls out for him, refusing to give up on him. He walks for hours, trying to find anything that could potentially lead him to Dongju. The sun starts to set and it’s harder for him to see and the trees feel so different, it’s as though he’s never been in this part of the world before.

He can hear someone with a deep voice nearby and follows the sound. He sees two figures and quickly recognises one as Dongju with his blanket, the other, he finds, has a very familiar, handsome, face. He can’t place where he’s seen the face before, he’s seen many people over the years, it’s easy to forget a face, however, he doesn’t know how he could forget this one. The man looks at him with the same intensity as Youngjo.

Still, it’s late and he needs to bring Dongju home.

“Dongju, I’m sorry for upsetting you, let’s go back home, ok?” Youngjo holds his hand out and Dongju takes it.

Youngjo turns to thank the stranger for keeping Dongju safe.

“I know you,” The glare Youngjo was receiving was intense enough to scare him, the shadows falling over his face, only helped to heighten the fear it struck. “You’re the one who broke my father’s daegeum and left Seoho.”

Dongju’s hold on his hand loosens. Youngjo doesn’t remember anyone called Seoho, yet it’s odd that they both recognise each other. Even if Youngjo can’t remember from where. The man looks quite young still, he has to be in his early twenties, which means, there’s not a long period of time for Youngjo to have met him.

Besides, he’s sure he would have remembered if he broke something that valuable.

“I think you might have me confused for someone else.”

“You have a hard face to forget.”

Youngjo doesn’t know whether to take that as a compliment.

“Maybe I was in the area, but you’ve got the wrong person, I’m sorry.”

Youngjo turns to walk away, gently pulling on Dongju’s arm. Dongju follows, admittedly rather reluctantly, before he drags them back to where the stranger stands. Youngjo doesn’t put up a fight. Dongju grabs the stranger’s arm to pull him along, the stranger just stares at the hand and it’s a few minutes before he starts asking questions. He follows them, Dongju is leading at this point, Youngjo, like the stranger, is also baffled as to why Dongju was acting like this. Like he normally did, Dongju said nothing.

While being led back home in the dark, Youngjo is reminded just how much difference lies in their night vision, for Dongju, it might as well be day.

Dongju drags the stranger inside the house.

No one speaks. Youngjo notices how the stranger’s hand brushes over where Dongju held his arm, how he looks over at the two of them. He notices how the stranger almost tries to reach out for him, only to hold his hand back.

“Dongju, what were you thinking?” Youngjo keeps his voice calm, hoping that this will be one of the times that Dongju actually speaks.

“He looked upset,” Dongju speaks in a matter of fact tone, despite the hoarseness of his voice.

“I’m still here!” The stranger looks like an angry kicked puppy and Youngjo cannot explain why the stranger hasn’t left, now that Dongju no longer has a grip on his arm. Youngjo has also definitely seen that face before, he just can’t remember where.

“I’m sorry for kidnapping you.”

“I’m not.” Dongju’s stare is painfully straight.

Youngjo can only stare at Dongju, he knows, he knows, Dongju knows that he’s not impressed, however, Dongju just shrugs and ignores him. Dongju even has the nerve to hold onto the stranger’s sleeve and look up at him with his puppy eyes, Dongju’s secret weapon.

“You can stay, right?”

Dongju is almost entirely turned away from Youngjo, and Youngjo is at a loss for words. They can’t just kidnap a person and expect them to stay. It’s absurd, and it translates into Youngjo’s face, even if he can’t find the words to explain it.

Youngjo can see the confusion in the stranger’s face, can see him floundering for words. It’s somewhat comforting to know that he’s not the only person Dongju’s behaviour has had a confusing effect on.

“Dongju, you can’t just kidnap people!” Yep, real helpful Youngjo, he really scolded Dongju there, he’ll really heed Youngjo’s words.

Dongju just directs his puppy eyes Youngjo’s way, and Youngjo is weak. It’s laughable just how weak he is. He surrenders and leaves, choosing to not participate in this. If he doesn’t see it, it isn’t happening.

The moon is beautiful, he notes as he walks through the night, relying more on muscle memory than his sight. He can see every building, every tree, and although he can’t see many details, he knows that the trees are covered in moss, he knows that many people keep talismans around their houses. He can’t really see them now that the sun has set.

Still, with the world bathed in moonlight, he finds beauty and is thankful he didn’t drown. That he chose to tread water rather than fall into the depths. He’s thankful he didn’t drown for Dongju’s sake, Dongju’s learning to swim and Youngjo’s there for him as they navigate the ocean together.

He heads out to his normal hunting grounds. He feels horrible for every animal he’s forced to kill, he prays each time, thanking the Lord and asking for forgiveness.

He prays again tonight as he catches a hare, lucking out with his vision for once.

When he returns home, it’s silent, and neither Dongju nor the stranger can be seen. He looks around, but stays out of Dongju’s room, just in case he’s asleep. He drains some of the blood from the hare into a bowl and covers it, it won’t stop clotting but it does help reduce it.

He places the bowl on the corner of the counter for Dongju to have when he’s awake, he doesn’t need to drink much himself, so there’s a substantial amount for Dongju.

He settles in for the night, pulling the blankets tight around himself, he’ll tell Dongju off in the morning for kidnapping a random stranger.

The same stranger he sees in the morning.

Why is the stranger still here? What did Dongju do? Where was the stranger last night?

They can only stare at each other, Youngjo in clear disbelief.

He vaguely registers Dongju exiting his room, grabbing the bowl, the stranger says something before Dongju returns to his room. He can see that the stranger is talking but his words don’t register in his brain. He rubs his eyes, wondering if he is just imagining this whole situation, however, when he blinks open his eyes, the stranger is still there.

“Why… are you still here?” He doesn’t want to be rude, he just has. Questions.

“Your dongsaeng is very persuasive.” The stranger can barely hold eye contact.

“Was it the eyes?” The stranger nods, so they both stand there, awkwardly nodding.

The silence that settles is stifling.

“What’s your name?” Youngjo asks if the stranger is going to stay, they probably should at least know each other’s names.

“Kim Geonhak.” The name isn’t familiar to him, or at least, it isn’t more familiar to him than other names.

“Kim Youngjo.” Geonhak’s eyes narrow.

“You have the same name.”

“As...?” Youngjo knows as soon as he says that, that Geonhak was going to bring up yesterday’s argument.

“The guy who broke my father’s daegeum and left Seoho!” He really doesn’t want to fight.

“I can assure you, I don’t know a Seoho.” He hopes that Geonhak would leave it at this.

Dongju chooses this moment to exit his room. He pads over to the counter, quickly locating the bowl and grabbing it. He silently offers it to Geonhak, the moment seems to move in slow motion as Geonhak reaches out to lift the cover. Youngjo gently slaps Geonhak’s hand and pulls Dongju aside.

“What are you doing?” He tries his hardest to not hiss, but instead keep his voice in a more hushed tone. Dongju just glares, which makes it rather hard for Youngjo to try to figure out what Dongju is thinking. Unfortunately, it’s almost impossible.

“Dongju, I’m going to need you to use your words.” He keeps any annoyance out of his voice.

Dongju points to his fangs, and then back to Geonhak. Youngjo looks over to where Geonhak is standing, he’s fidgeting with his hands, in a sort of subtle way. They make eye contact. Youngjo looks back at Dongju. Surely, if he were a vampire too like Dongju was suggesting, Youngjo would have noticed.

“You sure?” Dongju nods, somehow it makes him look even more child-like.

Dongju pads back over to Geonhak with the bowl, Youngjo doesn’t even try to stop him this time.

“That’s… blood?” Dongju was wrong, their cover is blown, they’re going to lose any freedom they had. Dongju just nods, they’re going to lose their freedom and Dongju just nods.

“No thank you.” Geonhak sounds confused.

Dongju shrugs and pads back to his room. Youngjo just stares at where Dongju once stood, then back at Geonhak, who doesn’t look too concerned.

They make eye contact again, Geonhak has a shy smile, and sure enough, he has fangs. Youngjo studies his face, now that Youngjo knows it’s not in the past few years that he has seen this face, maybe he might remember where he’s seen him.

He knows, but at the same time, he’s not sur- he knows.

He did break this man’s daegeum.

“Is everything ok?” Geonhak asks.

“I do actually know you,” Youngjo remembers him, with long, tidy hair and a dark hanbok. Not much has changed throughout the years, or at least, as far as he remembers, not much has changed, it’s been quite a few years since the last time he saw him.

Still handsome.

“I knew it.” He looks like he has more he wants to say.

“I still don’t know a Seoho though.” Hopefully, this puts an end to the argument before it begins, however, just for extra measures he adds, “are you moving in?”

“Dongju didn’t exactly say much. I’m still not sure why I’m here.”

Youngjo has to wonder if Geonhak has any survival instincts at this point, he’s bordering on no, absolutely not.

“I’ll ask Dongju what he was thinking.” Youngjo goes to Dongju’s room, where he finds Dongju wrapped up in his twin’s blankets, staring out the window, the bowl in his shaking hands. He’s not crying, but he looks close to it.

“How are you?” Youngjo sits beside Dongju, he notices that it remains practically untouched.

“I miss him.” Dongju’s voice is almost impossible to hear, it’s so quiet.

“I know.” Youngjo opens up his arms in a silent invitation, it takes a few seconds before Dongju accepts and leans in. Youngjo holds him in a tight enough hold to be grounding, but still loose enough that he can escape whenever he wants.

He knows he should ask about Geonhak, however, now is clearly not the time. He sets the blood bowl aside for the time being and covers it with his free arm before wrapping it around Dongju. Dongju is stiff for a moment before he relaxes into Youngjo’s arms.

It isn’t much longer before he can feel Dongju shaking in his arms, he quietly sobs and clutches onto Youngjo’s clothes.

Youngjo talks about the first thing on his mind, he changes the topic often, just to try to distract Dongju.

Dongju pulls away and rubs the tears away from his eyes. He looks over to where the bowl lies, Youngjo passes it over. Dongju sips from the bowl as Youngjo watches the clotted blood gather.

“Can I ask why you kidnapped Geonhak?” Youngjo keeps his voice soft.

“He looked lonely,” Dongju mumbles, clutching the blanket tighter around him. Dongju is almost hiding at this point. “He can leave if he wants to.”

“Do you want him to stay?”

There’s a tiny sparkle in Dongju’s eyes as he nods.

“I’ll let him know.” He stands up and Dongju passes up his bowl. There’re huge clumps gathered at the bottom of it, it’s not a pretty sight. He goes to wash the bowl as soon as he closes the door behind him.

“He says he wants you to stay.” He scrubs at the blood that has dried.

“Can I bring my belongings?” Does he have a death wish? That’s all Youngjo wants to know. He takes a break from scrubbing to look over at where Geonhak stands, blood streaks across in a messy pattern.

“Of course.” He goes back to cleaning, yet there’s a stain that just won’t come out. He deems it good enough and leaves it out to dry while drying his hands on his clothes.

“When do you want to go?” Youngjo asks.

“Is today ok?” Geonhak’s response isn’t quick per se, but it’s still a bit too fast for Youngjo’s liking. Geonhak’s decision to move in is definitely too fast, then again, he probably isn’t one to talk.

Probably.

However, he doesn’t have any plans for today, so he can go collect Geonhak’s belongings. They quickly discuss details, such as how far Geonhak lives to know how far they will have to travel, and how they can carry everything. Dongju leaves his room while Youngjo was trying to explain why Geonhak can’t just carry everything by himself and starts hovering around Youngjo.

He isn’t wearing Dongmyeong’s blanket, it’s a sight Youngjo isn’t accustomed to. Dongju bites his nails as he hovers.

Dongju chooses to join them to Geonhak’s place, Youngjo is sure it’s because he doesn’t want to be alone. He grabs the blanket before he leaves, wrapping it around himself. It makes him look smaller.

The destination isn’t far and with the peaceful weather, they can make a decent pace. The air grows colder as the sun begins her descent. They can hear birdsong as they make light conversation.

Youngjo notices how careful Geonhak is with his words, as he keeps his responses short, without revealing more than was asked. Still, Youngjo doesn’t need much response, he lives with Dongju, so he can keep the conversation going despite how one-sided it is. Still, he’s not exactly that talkative, so the walk still is relatively quiet.

Not too far away there’s a group of three men, one’s short, he’s stood beside someone much taller than him and the third person, even from a distance is familiar. They’re walking towards each other, so if he knows him, he’ll be able to get a closer look.

As they get closer, Youngjo can see details he saw too many years ago. It can’t really be him, can it?

He freezes.

Youngjo knows him. Knows that he shouldn’t be here, that something horrible had to have happened because he really shouldn’t be here looking so young.

“Gunmin?”

The moon is in her first quarter.


	8. Geonhak gets lost like a child in a supermarket, except it's a huge city (Geonhak)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geonhak can still feel Dongju’s touch as he stares at Seoho. He vaguely hears Youngjo brokenly call out someone’s name. He can’t hear much else over the static in his brain. 
> 
> Seoho looks hurt and cold. Seoho has never been cold in all the years Geonhak has known him. He’s always been warm.
> 
> Now he looks as cold as Geonhak feels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: Panic attack (it's slightly unrealistic, i just took the fact that I overheat when panicking and r a n with it)   
> Anyway, hope you enjoy ^.^

Geonhak can still feel Dongju’s touch as he stares at Seoho. He vaguely hears Youngjo brokenly call out someone’s name. He can’t hear much else over the static in his brain. 

Seoho looks hurt and cold. Seoho has never been cold in all the years Geonhak has known him. He’s always been warm.

Now he looks as cold as Geonhak feels.

It’s not even the only thing different about his appearance, yet he can’t really explain what else is different. He thinks it’s the eyes.

Seoho looks at him, his eyes are so cold, Geonhak can feel the ice creeping over his body. It’s warm where Dongju holds onto his arm. The contrast burns. It’s too warm.

The past few moments flash through his mind, too quick for him to grasp and understand.

Seoho is leaving.

“Wait!” Geonhak calls out, desperate. Seoho stops, along with his friends. The taller friend looks like he’s trying to be angry, however, he just has a friendly face.

Now that Geonhak has Seoho’s attention, he’s not entirely sure of how to react. Any words he could have said fail him. He tries multiple different times to speak, yet nothing comes out.

Seoho’s gone.

A familiar cold settles into his bones.

He squares his shoulders and continues walking towards his place, it isn’t far. Probably no further than five minutes from where they are now. He can see the house. It’s fairly isolated, and some vegetables struggle to grow. He doesn’t know what he’s doing wrong, while simultaneously not knowing what he’s doing right. If he’s doing anything right.

The windows are covered in a thin layer of frost. He has a few bags left from the last time he moved to a new house; they gather dust on the floor. There’s a blood stain on the floor that Geonhak has never been able to properly clean, he hasn’t been able to cover it with a rug either, it’s too awkward and large a shape. The counters are dirty, and 5 dirty dishes are littered across, which is all the dishes he owns. Geonhak knows Dongju is judging him as soon as he walks in. He can’t exactly blame him. He would judge himself too.

He packs some clothes, his father’s daegeum and other necessities, he notices Youngjo packing some other things, he’s not entirely sure what, but he keeps himself busy. Dongju hovers near Youngjo, he looks cosy wrapped up in the blanket.

Dongju is given the least to carry on their walk back, he’s mainly tasked with keeping the daegeum safe. Youngjo insists on carrying his fair share. Youngjo doesn’t talk as much on their walk back.

Youngjo cooks when they get back. It’s surprisingly good. He can’t tell what the meat is, but it’s nice.

Though, Geonhak doesn’t think he can use any word other than nice, questionable maybe. There is most definitely something questionable about something in the dish, however, it’s nice. Dongju pushes the food around, he finishes his meal, he just takes his time.

Dongju is the first to fall asleep that night, Geonhak goes to sleep not much later to avoid any conversation.

In the morning, Dongju whispers something to Youngjo. He looks so small, huddled up in the blanket. Youngjo asks him if he wants to go to Gyeongseong. It’s been a long time since he’s been there.

Seoho wasn’t there last time. A stranger opened the door, despite Seoho’s insistence that he should return, he wasn’t there.

He doesn’t know if he wants to go back.

However, he makes the mistake of looking into Dongju’s doe eyes, and sure enough, he finds himself heading towards Gyeongseong. Youngjo doesn’t even let Geonhak help pay for the ride. The driver gives Dongju an odd look, however, doesn’t say anything.

It’s loud in the city, louder than Geonhak remembers it being. He doesn’t entirely understand everything that people are saying, there are so many new words and background sounds, it’s hard to keep up. Even some of the things he sees for sale are completely new.

He follows Youngjo and Dongju, as they navigate the streets. The houses start looking less stable and he can spot some people are already multiple drinks past tipsy. There’s drunken singing in the streets and broken glass.

Dongju knocks on the door of one of the nicer looking houses. The door is slightly cracked, and Geonhak is certain he can hear shouting. However, it could be coming from anywhere.

Someone who looks a few years older than Dongju’s age rushes out the door. He steals all of Dongju’s attention, and Geonhak hears Dongju speaking, while his friend is doing most of the talking, he responds with full sentences. 

They wander the streets before knocking on another door. The man who answers already has tears in his eyes, which just increase once he sees Dongju. Geonhak doesn’t watch their reunion because he spots someone from the corner of his eye. He lets Youngjo know, before leaving and trying to find Seoho.

Seoho is very good at disappearing. Geonhak is sure he saw him, he’s almost positive, yet as he wanders the streets, not quite running, he can’t find him. He just disappeared.

Geonhak doesn’t know where he is.

All he knows is there’s a car coming towards him. He moves out of the way, trying his hardest to not stare but this is the first time that he’s ever seen a car up so close. It’s fast.

He sees Seoho again, however, yet again, he disappears.

The sun is starting to set.

He has money, he can get back to the house. He just needs to find someone who can take him there.

He probably needs to figure out where he is first.

The buildings are nice, or at least nice relative to where Dongju and Youngjo went. There’s no broken glass lining the streets and the people look sober. He’s tempted to ask for directions but backs out before he can even think about mustering the courage.

He doesn’t understand the streets. Either his memory is poor, or the city has changed since he left. Now he feels trapped in the middle of the world’s most confusing maze and he can’t get out.

As the sky grows darker, he realises, he doesn’t actually know where Youngjo and Dongju live. Sure, he could walk it, it would take forever, but he couldn’t tell someone else.

Are Youngjo and Dongju looking for him? Geonhak doesn’t want them to, that would imply that they are worried about him. He’s an adult, he shouldn’t be getting lost like a child. It’s getting cold.

He avoids anyone who looks like they would try to talk to him, a beggar calls out to him and Geonhak stumbles over his words before making a hasty retreat. He hears shouts in a foreign language.

He speeds up, not really watching where he’s going. He watches the people around him, hoping to avoid them. He does a horrible job as he bumps into someone.

He apologises before he realises that it’s Youngjo he bumped into. Youngjo pulls him into a hug, and Geonhak’s brain goes static. It’s so warm, like sitting by a gentle fire. Gingerly, he reaches out, and Youngjo is solid.

Youngjo speaks, but Geonhak can’t catch it with the static that fogs up his mind. He just follows Youngjo through the streets.

Dongju scolds him when he sees him, he thinks. The tone sounds scolding. There’s still the static. It lasts all the way back to the house. Geonhak doesn’t even offer to pay this time, he doesn’t notice when Youngjo pays.

He wants to ask for another hug, to confirm in his mind that he can actually touch people again. He wants to, but he doesn’t. Because once the static fades, he realises he failed. He wanted to protect Dongju, and instead, he worried him. Geonhak is the older one, he shouldn’t be like this.

He’s the first to go to sleep that night.

He’s falling, from where, he doesn’t know. He can’t see the ground below him. His stomach lurches, yet he can’t scream.

He nearly attacks Youngjo when he wakes him up. Youngjo just laughs it off. Geonhak brushes it off when Youngjo asks him about it, he can barely look Youngjo in the eye.

It’s been about a week since they went to Gyeongseong, and Geonhak hasn’t seen Seoho. However, he could be busy, so he doesn’t worry. Seoho is a busy scholar after all. Geonhak’s brother visited; just the once, however, he couldn’t stay for long. He’s busy with work after all.

Geonhak tries to hug him goodbye, but he slips out of his reach before he can try. He should’ve known this would happen; his brother has never liked hugs. So, he can’t be too upset.

Throughout the whole week, Geonhak doesn’t think he’s seen Dongju without the blanket. Not for longer than an hour. Still, it’s surprisingly clean.

The next week, Youngjo and Dongju go to Gyeongseong, this time Geonhak doesn’t go, he doesn’t want to embarrass himself again.

They’ve been gone for a while. Geonhak finds himself growing antsier. The house is normally quiet, he should be used to this. He’s not used to this. There are no floorboard creaks as Dongju moves around in his room, no talking, nothing. Just silence.

He’s going to be left alone again.

He’s been alone before, surely he can handle it again. After all, he has Seoho and his brother to check up on him. Upon saying that, Seoho hasn’t been visiting, lately. He did seem pretty upset last time he saw him. Geonhak doesn’t even know what he did to upset him.

Is that why he isn’t visiting? It makes sense. He just wishes that he could know how to make it right.

The sun is in the middle of the sky. The silence is overwhelming. Yet, he can’t speak to fill it. The walls threaten to close him on him. He’s struggling to breathe. The house shrinks.

He’s on fire.

He’s going to burn, reduced to nothing more than ash to blow in the winds. He can feel the fires blazing, feel the smoke choking him. He can see the house go up in flames. He watches in horror as the flames lick the walls, devastating everything they touch.

He’s frozen to the spot. He can’t even shout, the smoke burns his throat. Dries it out. He’s gasping for air. He collapses to the floor. There’s a violent blend of reds, blacks and oranges as the flames grow closer to taking over him. The house is being reduced to ash right before his eyes. He shuts them tight and lets the flames engulf him.

There’s a shout.

It’s too loud. It rings in his ears. He opens his eyes. It’s Youngjo.

Why is he here? Can’t he see the house is on fire? Dongju is hovering again.

“Get out. It’s not safe.” His voice is unsteady, broken, he chokes on every word. Youngjo tells Dongju to go to his room.

Why is he not telling Dongju to leave the house entirely? Surely, he can feel the heat of the flames. Feel how it burns from the inside out. Youngjo places his hand on Geonhak’s forehead. His hands are like ice.

Youngjo tries to pick Geonhak up, however, he’s more dragging him. It’s too tight. He can’t breathe. Youngjo’s calling Dongju for help. It’s too loud. He’s trapped as the flames consume him. He can’t even escape if he wants to.

“Should we get a doctor?” Dongju asks. Geonhak isn’t sick. He’s fine. The house is just on fire.

“If he’s not better by morning.” Geonhak _isn’t_ sick.

With Dongju’s help, Youngjo places him on a bed. A bed that he saw turn to char.

He’s sat up and given a cup of tea. He can barely hold it, his arms feel so limp. He can’t finish it. The flames have died down around him, but he’s still on fire.

“Rest.” Youngjo tucks him in. It’s too tight. He feels fingers running through his hair. It’s cold to the point that it burns. He pulls away. He hears Youngjo apologise.

Slowly, the fire dies. It burns to embers before it goes cold.

He’s asleep not long later.

Youngjo checks up on him in the morning, presses his hand on Geonhak’s forehead. His hand is warm. A gentle warmth, that, if Geonhak was a weaker man, would lean into. He’s still tired.

“How are you feeling?” Youngjo’s stare is intense.

“Fine.” Geonhak’s response does nothing to curb the intensity of Youngjo’s stare.

“Should we get a doctor, just in case?” How does he still not realise the danger he was in yesterday? Today? He doesn’t know. 

“I’m not sick.”

“You had a fever earlier.” He was on fire, there’s a difference.

“The house was on fire!” They walked into a burning building without any cares.

“Where?” Youngjo looks around.

“You didn’t see it?” Geonhak’s voice is small.

Youngjo enters Dongju’s room. He’s not in there long before he’s leaving the house and Dongju sits on the bed with Geonhak. He wraps a blanket around Geonhak’s shoulders, a different blanket to the one he always wears. That blanket is wrapped around Dongju, as always.

He swings his legs as he sits. He looks like he wants to say something.

“I will be wanting the blanket back, but you can keep it until you get better hyung.” This was probably the loudest Dongju has spoken around Geonhak.

“I’m not sick.” He’s at a loss for why everyone thinks that he’s sick.

“Then why is Youngjo getting a doctor?” Geonhak goes to stand up, he needs to stop Youngjo. He’s not sick.

A sudden weight forces him back down. He looks to see Dongju sprawled across his lap.

“Youngjo hyung said to keep you here.” Dongju looks up at him, his voice is lacking in any playfulness.

“You know I can carry you?”

“I will bite you.” It sounds like an empty threat.

Geonhak easily picks Dongju, along with his blanket up and stands. He feels a bite in his neck and cries out. Soon his shoulder is growing damp, however, the bite wasn’t enough to pierce through his skin.

Dongju’s crying. Geonhak sits back down and holds Dongju close, as Dongju cries on his shoulder. He keeps his sobs quiet, however, they shake through his whole body. He curls up to become even smaller.

Geonhak isn’t entirely sure how to help. He tries telling Dongju to stop crying, which doesn’t work. He just cries more.

His cries soften over time until Dongju is just sniffling in Geonhak’s arms. He’s stopped shaking; however, he’s snuggled up close, probably to steal Geonhak’s warmth.

The door opens, Youngjo’s back. He brings Seoho with him.

The moon is a waxing gibbous.


	9. There's a child in a blanket (Seoho)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He tries to stay professional as he enters the house. Tries to not let the hurt show as he witnesses first-hand how easy he is to replace. Tries to forget how Geonhak refused to even talk to him last time they met.
> 
> He doesn’t smile.
> 
> He just tells the boy to get off Geonhak so he can get to work. The boy complies and rewraps his blanket around himself. He still hovers and Seoho isn’t happy with all the eyes on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is short, next week's chapter will be longer, anyways enjoy ^.^  
> also ao3 doesn't seem to want to work for me rn, so... rip me ig

He tries to stay professional as he enters the house. Tries to not let the hurt show as he witnesses first-hand how easy he is to replace. Tries to forget how Geonhak refused to even talk to him last time they met.

He doesn’t smile.

He just tells the boy to get off Geonhak so he can get to work. The boy complies and rewraps his blanket around himself. He still hovers and Seoho isn’t happy with all the eyes on him.

If he had a choice, he wouldn’t even be here, but alas, he was the only one working at night.

So, he starts checking Geonhak’s vitals, as he works, he doesn’t speak. He’s found it’s easier to bottle his anger up.

Everything’s fine with Geonhak, perfectly healthy. Probably gets decent sleep levels of healthy, or at least good at faking enough sleep.

“Was this some elaborate scheme to get me to talk to you again?” He keeps his voice steady. It’s certainly not a cheap scheme. However, there’s nothing wrong with Geonhak, so they must’ve found out he was a doctor. They’ve not seen him for decades; they can leave him alone for many more.

Sure, Youngjo could have an excuse, seeing as Seoho wasn’t actually a vampire when they knew each other. However, Geonhak lived with him, and reflecting back on that time, Seoho was terrible at hiding that he was a vampire. He has no excuse.

“No, he was warm to the touch and talking about the house being on fire. We didn’t even know you were a doctor.” Of course, Youngjo is the one to talk. At this point, it’s probably safe to say Geonhak doesn’t like him.

Seoho can live with that. He just wishes they don’t try to force themselves back into his life. Hopefully, after today he never has to see them again. If he has to see them this decade, it’ll be too soon.

“It might be a mental disease.” He shrugs and puts his stuff back in his bag. He can’t stay here much longer.

“Can you help with those?” Maybe Geonhak and Youngjo don’t actually get along if Youngjo is willing to put Geonhak through the shame. Or maybe he thinks this is what’s best. It’s not as if he actually understands Youngjo. He’s put too much thought into this, he shouldn’t waste more energy on them.

“Not qualified. Someone can probably refer him to a hospital, or prayer house, but unless he’s a danger to others, I doubt it will work.” Youngjo looks conflicted. Geonhak is glaring at Youngjo.

He leaves without saying anything.

As he shuts the door, he hears Geonhak saying that he wasn’t sick, further proofing the theory that Geonhak doesn’t like him.

It’s not Seoho’s problem. Let them have their own problems. They don’t need to be part of his life anymore. They didn’t want him to be in theirs.

There’s not much more that happens before he goes home for the night.

Keonhee’s already asleep, kicking out quite violently. Hwanwoong is still awake, reading under the lamp. He looks tired.

“Hey Peanut. How are you?” He gets an eye roll in response.

“What do you want hyung?” Seoho puts on a mask of mock offence.

“Can’t I check in on how my precious dongsaeng is doing?” Seoho has a shit-eating grin.

“No.” Killjoy. “So, what is it?”  
“You gotta guess.”

“Some drunk person said something stupid?” At least he’s playing along now, even if his answer was boring.

“Where’s your imagination gone Woongie?” He smiles, poking Hwanwoong’s cheek. “Anyway, wrong answer.”

He takes a seat beside Hwanwoong.

“I saw Youngjo and Geonhak.” He tries to make sure his smile doesn’t falter, but he knows it no longer reaches his eyes. After all, it’s been decades, it shouldn’t hurt him.

Even if he truly thought Geonhak was dead. It just means that Geonhak is a better actor than Youngjo. Clearly, not a good person for him to be around.

“Aren’t they the bastards- “  
“The very ones.” Seoho interrupts Hwanwoong, still smiling.

“What did they want?”

“Patient-doctor confidentiality.” The shit-eating grin is back.

“Why tell me then?” Hwanwoong almost sounds like he’s whining.   
“I didn’t.” Seoho knows exactly what Hwanwoong meant. Does that mean he’ll respond how Hwanwoong would want him to? Absolutely not.

There’s a bang, as Keonhee kicks the wall. How he doesn’t wake himself up with his kicking, science cannot provide the answers. He’s giving up on trying to figure it out. They just put his bed near a wall where there are no neighbours beside.

Seoho yawns, bids Hwanwoong good night and goes to bed.

When he wakes up, Hwanwoong is still asleep, while Keonhee is awake, cleaning rice. He hasn’t acknowledged Seoho yet.

“Morning,” Seoho says, sure he’s slightly louder than he would normally be, however, it doesn’t warrant the scream that Keonhee lets out. He tries to glare at Seoho, but it looks to pouty to properly count as a glare, Seoho just hides his laugh behind his hand.

It’s about a week later when Seoho meets the third person in Youngjo and Geonhak’s little group. He’s not alone, of course, he never has been in the feel times he’s seen him; however, he spots Seoho and stares. It’s an intense stare, Seoho feels like the stranger can stare into his soul and see every mistake he’s ever made. Seoho can’t say he’s a fan. He’d like to keep his mistakes to himself.

Still, the stranger makes no attempt to talk to Seoho. He sticks to his friends, leaving Seoho with the memory of his eyes.

He doesn’t forget how intense the stare was in the evening, like he thought he would. Something about how piercing the stranger’s eyes forces them to stay lingering in the back of his mind.

It’s well over a month the next time Seoho sees the stranger, this time, Seoho notices the blanket. He’s not sure if the stranger actually sees him, he doesn’t stare and so Seoho goes the other way. He’s unsure if he wants the stranger to notice him.

He doesn’t want the stranger to notice him. He’ll only bring Youngjo and Geonhak back into his life.

Yet they are already back in his life whether he likes it or not. They occupy a place in his mind again. The hurt they left threatens to leave the neat box he left it in. He has to patch up the leaks.

Still, if he keeps up with the repairs, there should never be a flood.

Keonhee is able to tell something is wrong when Seoho gets home. However, unlike what Keonhee thinks, talking about it won’t help and will only undo all his progress in compartmentalising.

So Seoho talks about work and dodges the mess of limbs that is Keonhee trying to be affectionate. Hwanwoong, the traitor, decides to join Keonhee. It ends with Seoho at the bottom of a pile, laughing.

The next time Seoho finds the stranger, he’s in Seoho’s house. His doe eyes are pointed to the ground. There’s something different about his appearance, that Seoho can’t figure out. He doesn’t acknowledge Seoho, his only reaction is to wrap his arms tighter around himself.

“What are you doing here?” Seoho is probably being dramatic, but the presence of the stranger feels wrong, like he’s infected the place. He looks so small, and yet his presence bleeds into the whole house, making it unclean.

Keonhee returns, with a blanket and a sewing kit. The stranger still hasn’t said anything.

“Seoho do you know how to sew?” Keonhee at least looks apologetic. He hasn’t thought to explain anything, such as: why is there a stranger in their house, why does he need to sew, who is the stranger?

“I can try?” Sure, he’s had to stitch up people, but there is a difference. At least, he’ll be better than Keonhee. Keonhee thanks him and passes over the blanket, where there’s a deep rip along an edge, it’s damp as well, and probably could do with a wash.

“Why is he here?” Seoho asks as he threads the needle, or attempts to, as soon as he thinks he has it, the thread was actually nowhere near the eye. He gets it on his third attempt.

“I ripped his blanket and I swear he was ready for murder,” Keonhee has a half-laugh in his voice and a smile.

Somehow, skin is more forgiving to stitch up, it doesn’t move around as often, and need doesn’t need to make sure the stitches are neat, just secure and clean. He’s done, maybe three stitches. They’re neat enough, and the thread doesn’t stand out too much. It isn’t a perfect match, but it’s decent.

Keonhee watches as Seoho sews. He compliments the sewing. The stranger does eventually come over, silently, to inspect the blanket. Seoho has to slap his hand away.

As soon as he’s finished (he didn’t even stab himself once), the stranger wraps himself up in the blanket, the dampness doesn’t even seem to bother him.

It’s not Seoho’s problem.

“Shouldn’t you wash it?” Apparently, Seoho is going to make it his problem.

The stranger shakes his head, and he seems to shrink.

“It was my brother’s, before...” His voice is barely audible and his voice breaks, he never finishes his sentence. Keonhee is quick to wrap himself around the stranger. Seoho is certain that he can see tears in Keonhee’s eyes as well. The stranger squirms before melting into Keonhee’s embrace.

“What’s your name?” Seoho’s already made the stranger his problem, might as well put a name to the problem.

“Son Dongju.”

“What was your brother like?” It’s always good to remember those you lost. Sometimes, remembering the good times makes it hurt less, sometimes, it makes it hurt more. Still, there’s comfort in knowing that you’re keeping the person alive in some form.

Even, if they probably don’t want you to be the one keeping them alive.

Dongju doesn’t speak for a couple minutes, he looks completely lost in thought.

“He was the best twin.” Dongju can’t keep the tears at bay as he speaks, every word sounds pained and unnatural, “He would complain if I didn’t share fruit. I didn’t deserve him, when we lost our parents, he was so strong, he took care of everything, the farm, the finances, me…”

Dongju’s voice trails off and he curls up into a ball, as he sobs. Keonhee rubs his back.

Wordlessly, Seoho joins the hug, not for long, but an attempt was made.

“Would your brother want you to live in his shadows?” Seoho really is making it his problem.

Dongju tries to lunge at him, tries being the keyword. It’s hard to properly attack anyone when wrapped up in both Keonhee and a blanket. He ends up falling on his face. Seoho does laugh, in that silent manner when you shouldn’t be laughing but it’s impossible for you to not laugh.

Dongju starts crying again, just as Hwanwoong appears, from where Seoho isn’t sure. Hwanwoong, technically speaking, could have been here this whole time. 

Still, Hwanwoong joins the group and has the audacity to kick both Keonhee and Seoho out. Seoho tries to listen through the walls, but they’re both quiet so he gives up on that. It’s not his problem.

The front door opens and shuts, Keonhee peeks out, the room is empty. There’s no evidence that Dongju was ever even there, other than the needle and thread that’s left on the table.

Yet, somehow, Dongju’s presence still lingers. As if he never left in the first place.

Hwanwoong is gone for around a half-hour, in that time Keonhee returns the needle and thread to their neighbours, a friendly family with a young child.

Seoho can’t help but to hope for the best for Dongju. After all, living with Youngjo and Geonhak will be great once they abandon him like they abandoned Seoho.

The moon is in her last quarter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyway, this has nothing to do with this fic or oneus, but nightwish just announced that marko was leaving. like imma wish him the best, but at the same time, i am d i s t r e s s e d. like he sings my favourite song of all time (listen to "while your lips are still red, it's beautiful) so like, ouch.  
> anyway support oneus (and nightwish if you like metal)  
> (also can grammarly stop autocorrecting, this is my style of typing)


	10. Dongju forces three grown ass men to have a healthy conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dongju can’t claim that he knows who Seoho is, Youngjo and Geonhak don’t talk about him. They’ll talk about a lot of things, but not Seoho. Still, he can remember Geonhak’s face when he saw Seoho.
> 
> Geonhak denies it, but he was crying. His eyes were fixed on Seoho and he looked scared. While Youngjo looked heartbroken, sounded heartbroken, Geonhak looked scared, and Dongju had seen that face before.
> 
> Dongmyeong had the same face when he was scared of losing Dongju.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope yall enjoy ^.^ part 2 is almost at an end, we'll have part 3 soon enough (debating taking another week or two hiatus after part 2 to get caught up on word count

Dongju can’t claim that he knows who Seoho is, Youngjo and Geonhak don’t talk about him. They’ll talk about a lot of things, but not Seoho. Still, he can remember Geonhak’s face when he saw Seoho.

Geonhak denies it, but he was crying. His eyes were fixed on Seoho and he looked scared. While Youngjo looked heartbroken, sounded heartbroken, Geonhak looked scared, and Dongju had seen that face before.

Dongmyeong had the same face when he was scared of losing Dongju.

So, when Dongju sees Seoho, he can’t help but to stare. He doesn’t know what went wrong, he doesn’t pretend to know. He pulls his blanket tighter around himself. Seoho is staring back, and he looks hurt. Dongju doesn’t speak to him.

“Hyung, how come you don’t talk about Seoho?” His voice feels rough, it burns, he has to take a drink just to sooth it. Youngjo stops drinking for a moment.

“I don’t have a good reason.” Youngjo pauses, and looks up, “I thought he had moved on, and after time passed, I guess I thought he would’ve been dead.”

“What happened between you two?” Is it his place to pry? Probably not. That isn’t going to stop him.

“It’s my fault. I left him behind.” That seems to match up with why Youngjo apologised over and over again. “Why are you asking about Seoho?”

“Curiosity.”

Dongju asks Geonhak what happened between them, in the evening when he’s home.

“I don’t know.” Something here isn’t adding up, not with how Geonhak was the only person Seoho even spoke to. What did Seoho even say? If Dongju remembers correctly, it was something about trust. Then again, problems to do with trust are confusing.

He wishes Dongmyeong was here, he could figure this out.

The next time he meets up with Dongmyeong’s friends, he asks if they would know a way to help. He planned out the half-truths and lies that he would have to tell two days in advance, committing them to memory, forcing them to become the truth for the time being. So, he doesn’t flounder, and they buy the story he’s selling them.

“Are you sure this is what they want?” Yonghoon asks.

He can just hear Youngjo’s apologies, and Geonhak calling out for him. When Seoho left after Geonhak’s fever, he can remember how Youngjo locked himself away, can remember Youngjo’s red eyes when he finally surfaced.

He pulls the blanket tighter around him, it no longer smells like his twin, yet it keeps him sane. Like there’s a trace of Dongmyeong that Dongju can’t kill.

“Yes,” He can’t say he’s all too sure about how Seoho would feel about it, but it can’t hurt to find out. He just needs a plan of action. Something that could settle their differences.

So, they talk it out, building hypotheticals that could technically speaking be feasible.

Still, it all depends on Seoho.

However, Dongju is going to get them to talk at least. That’s realistically the most he can do. He’s going to do it. He just needs to get Seoho on board.

Dongju is smothered in a group hug before he leaves to return home. He sits in silence the whole time on his way home, almost completely still as well, he just adjusts the blanket every now and again.

Youngjo has haejang-guk ready for him as soon as he’s home, however, Geonhak is the one wearing the apron. He knows the apron, Dongmyeong used to wear one like that. He tries to force the tears away, blink them away before they can fall.

It doesn’t work.

Physically, he knows that it’s Geonhak wearing the apron, he’s too tall to be Dongmyeong, but for a moment, he sees Dongmyeong. Everything is wrong, the kitchen, Geonhak’s height, the blanket. He readjusts the blanket, exposing his neck, hoping some cool air will help.

He’s not crying, he’s fine.

Dongju watches as Geonhak removes the apron, he’s cautious with it, thankfully, making sure not to pull too much as he unties it, and he hangs it up. Dongju is frozen as he watches the apron.

Youngjo guides Dongju so that he’s sitting in his lap. It’s surprisingly not awkward sitting in Youngjo’s lap. Maybe because it’s Youngjo, who is slowly handing out more and more affection as easily as breathing. Even if that isn’t the reason, it’s the reason Dongju accepts.

Dongju brushes the almost tears away, as he makes himself comfortable and eats his dinner.

The next time Dongju is out in Gyeongseong, he tries to search for a hospital near where he’s sure he saw Seoho. His plans for trying to find Seoho are… undefined to say the least. Of course, there is no guarantee that Seoho would even want to talk to him, should Dongju even find him in the first place.

Dongju adjusts his blanket, silently asking Dongmyeong if he’s doing the right thing. He thinks of the Dongmyeong who would remove worms from the path and put them in the grass as a child, despite the weird looks he got. He’d want Dongju to help his friends.

He’s on the ground. Someone’s apologising profusely. He turns around where someone is also on the ground. He’s tall once he stands and he helps Dongju up.

“I’ll fix your blanket.” The tall man says, after a pause.

Dongju stops breathing, and looks down, where there’s a deep tear in his blanket. His heart has been stabbed and is bleeding out, staining everything it touches. He can’t even keep Dongmyeong’s belongings safe.

Someone holds him back. Probably Harin. He doesn’t know. He can only see red.

“I’m sorry.” The tall man has tears in his eyes. Dongju sobers up. It was an accident. It was just an accident.

Dongju promises he’ll stay safe and follows the stranger who introduces himself as Keonhee. Dongju holds the blanket, neatly bundled up so that nothing else can happen to it. He keeps rubbing over the torn fabric, feeling his heart break over and over again. He couldn’t even keep Dongmyeong’s favourite blanket safe.

Keonhee’s home is well kept if you ignore the mess that is the kitchen.

“Can I have the blanket?” Keonhee asks, turning the light on. “So, when I ask for some thread, I can get a close colour.”

Dongju hugs the blanket close, trying to get the courage to give it up. He can’t look Keonhee in the eyes as he passes over the blanket, tears well up in Dongju eyes. It’s irrational, but he can’t help but feel like he’s giving Dongmyeong up.

Keonhee thanks him, Dongju doesn’t respond. Keonhee leaves, he promises he’ll be back soon. Seoho enters within a minute of Keonhee leaving. Dongju didn’t plan for this. He’s invading Seoho’s space, this isn’t going to help get on Seoho’s good books. Sure, finding where Seoho works wasn’t great but it’s not his house at least.

Dongju wraps his arms around himself. It doesn’t provide the comfort that Dongmyeong’s blanket does.

He’s close to tears. He’s ruined the one good thing he was going to do for Youngjo and Geonhak.

The door opens again, Keonhee’s back. He has the blanket. It’s safe. Dongmyeong’s safe.

“Do you know how to sew?” His twin’s blanket is in the hands of someone who doesn’t know how to sew. Why did he trust Keonhee with his blanket?

He tries to reach out for the blanket however, it just gets passed over to Seoho.

“Why is he here?” Seoho asks, he doesn’t sound angry, which helps Dongju. However, there’s a deep ravine between the two, and Dongju fears that just his presence has increased the distance between the two.

“I ripped his blanket and I swear he was ready for murder,” Dongju shrinks. He’s just getting further from Seoho.

He can hear Keonhee complimenting the sewing, expressing how neat it is. Dongju goes to check, the stitches are neat, they almost blend in with the actual blanket as well. His hand is slapped away, and his apology gets no response.

Seoho secures the thread and hands it to Dongju, who throws it on, almost desperately. He can tell where it ripped, he runs this fingers over the stitches.

“Shouldn’t you wash it.” Seoho asks. Seoho doesn’t know, Dongju can’t get mad. Seoho doesn’t know. Of course, Dongju can’t wash it, it would be washing away Dongmyeong. He shakes his head. He can’t get rid of Dongmyeong.

“It was my brother’s, before...” He offers as an explanation; he wants to give more, but the tears threatening to pour and the bile running up his throat make it almost impossible. He can’t. He can’t. He can hear sniffling as Keonhee pulls him in a hug. He doesn’t deserve this. He doesn’t deserve the comfort. Not for killing his twin.

Still, Keonhee has a decent grip on Dongju, and he gives up the fight.

“What’s your name?” Seoho asks.

“Son Dongju.” Seoho nods. From the corner of his eye, Dongju sees someone moving about in the kitchen.

“What was your brother like?” Dongju isn’t sure how to respond. He could talk about how strong Dongmyeong was, how he was Dongju’s built in best friend, how full of life he was. He could talk about how Dongmyeong nearly hit someone when he accidently kicked off his shoe. Or how he couldn’t keep secrets to save his life.

“He was the best twin.” Dongju starts with the truth, he was the best friend Dongju had all his life. He was the best friend Dongju killed. “He would complain if I didn’t share fruit. I didn’t deserve him, when we lost our parents, he was so strong, he took care of everything, the farm, the finances, me…”

And Dongju repaid all that by killing him.

He can’t stop the tears now, so all he can do is try to hide. Hide himself away from the watching eyes.

“Would your brother want you to live in his shadows?” He’s not living in his brother’s shadows. He’s not. Seoho doesn’t understand anything.

He lunges, fully ready to fight.

He’s on the ground.

Tripped over arms and Dongmyeong’s blanket. His tears are cold as they fall down his face, all pride has been dashed.

Someone kicks Seoho and Keonhee out. He’s sure that person also physically kicks Seoho as he forces them out. He’s not entirely sure.

He introduces himself as Yeo Hwanwoong and asks how Dongju is. Dongju pushes himself off the floor, Hwanwoong looks friendly, which he’s thankful for. He can’t really find his voice, so he just nods.

“Sorry about Seoho, he means the best.” Hwanwoong’s voice is soft, or quiet to the point that it can be mistaken for soft.

Dongju could have a rant about how Seoho shouldn’t be sticking his nose somewhere where it doesn’t belong. Except that he can’t, that’s exactly what Dongju is wanting to do. Though, he’s sure that he’s dashed all chances of that.

“It’s ok.” He nearly chokes over his words.

“Do you want to go home?” Dongju nods, he can think of the pile of pillows and blankets calling out to him, some still carry Dongmyeong’s scent.

Maybe there was some truth to what Seoho was – he’s not going to entertain that thought any further.

“Come, I’ll take you home.” Hwanwoong smiles, and Dongju follows him.

Hwanwoong talks as they walk through the streets of Gyeongseong, he talks about the time Keonhee screamed bloody murder because it was dark and Hwanwoong was just sitting there, drinking tea.

“He somehow tries to claim he doesn’t get scared easily.” Hwanwoong laughs. Hwanwoong even joins him on the drive home.

“Do you know my address?” Hwanwoong asks, they’re outside Dongju’s house. Dongju shakes his head, so Hwanwoong tells him his address and makes Dongju promise to write before waving goodbye.

Dongju writes down the address before huddling between a mountain of blankets. He tries to inhale the scent of his twin, it’s all that’s left of him. It’s barely there, so faint that it might as well not exist.

He couldn’t even keep the last traces of Dongmyeong safe.

Dongju can hear someone approaching, he tries to make himself smaller, so he can’t be found. He holds his breath and hopes whoever it is leaves him to suffer in peace.

“Dongju.”

Shit. It’s Youngjo. Dongju hopes that he looks somewhere else.

“Dongju, I know you’re here.”

Dongju pokes his head out from the blankets, to see Youngjo sitting at the edge of the bed. Youngjo doesn’t say anything, still Dongju climbs out of the blankets to curl up in his arms. He doesn’t deserve this, but he wants this.

He doesn’t deserve Youngjo.

“What happened?” He may not deserve Youngjo, but can he stop caring about Dongju’s wellbeing for one moment? No, of course not. He’s Youngjo. Dongju worries that Youngjo’s going to burn himself out or stretch himself too thin with how much he does for others.

“Dongmyeong’s blanket tore.” He holds out the corner with the repairs, “Seoho fixed it.”

Youngjo rests his head on Dongju’s, he’s silent for a moment.

“How is Seoho?” He’s quiet, nervous even.

“He’s got good friends.” If Youngjo squeezes tighter, Dongju doesn’t notice or comment on it.

“I’m glad.” While Dongju can’t see it, he’s sure Youngjo has a sad smile. “How are you feeling?”

Dongju doesn’t want to answer. He just wraps his arms around Youngjo and hopes he accepts that as an answer. With Youngjo’s silence, he’s sure that it worked.

Youngjo sighs and curls into Dongju, almost protectively.

Dongju doesn’t deserve this, but despite that, he’ll cling onto it. Because he needs it. When he cries, Youngjo doesn’t comment on it, which Dongju is thankful for.

Geonhak lets them know he’s made dinner. He’s already sat down by the time Dongju’s at the table, so Dongju sits in his lap. He’s warm, and sure it makes it slightly awkward to eat, but it’s warm and when Geonhak runs his fingers through Dongju’s hair, it’s comforting.

He can just hold his bowl and hope he doesn’t spill any.

He writes his first letter to Hwanwoong after dinner, which includes an apology for trying to attack both Keonhee and Seoho.

He sends it in the morning.

Every morning he checks to see if Hwanwoong has written back.

It’s about a week later when he receives a letter. There’re two different handwritings, Keonhee’s handwriting is smaller than Hwanwoong’s. Dongju reads over it multiple times. Seoho has accepted Dongju’s apology, however, he hasn’t written anything. Hwanwoong claims that Seoho was busy with work.

Hwanwoong describes his dislike for the cold, and his hopes for the new year, it’s mainly hopes for good health for him and his friends, he also hopes for peace. He asks Dongju about his hopes.

Dongju writes another letter. As he’s writing about Youngjo and Geonhak, and his hopes for their happiness, he realises, that he could get them to write to Seoho. That way they can think about what they’re going to say rather than face to face where they can make mistakes.

He lets Hwanwoong know in his letter and asks for Hwanwoong to make sure Seoho would want to repair his relationship with Youngjo and Geonhak.

Both Youngjo and Geonhak write their letters. When Youngjo stays up late, stressing over his words, Dongju nags until he goes to bed. He may also use puppy dog eyes, but no one needs to know.

Geonhak rewrites his letter, doesn’t let Dongju see the old one.

Dongju proofreads the letters, Youngjo’s is heartfelt and full of remorse yet hopeful, while Geonhak’s is hopeful, and full of questions.

He posts the letters.

Hwanwoong’s letter again arrives a week later. In it, he invites Dongju to take a walk with him before the new year, on the 29th. He also explains that he’s given the letters to Seoho, but he hasn’t read them yet.

Dongju wonders if he’s read them yet.

The moon is in a waxing crescent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall, devil is fucking amazing, every song? a bop.  
> out of curiosity, if anyone wanna tell me their favourite song, that would be appreciated, mine is lion heart


	11. Dongju forces three grown ass men to have a healthy conversation part 2 electric boogaloo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hwanwoong can’t tell what Seoho’s reaction to the letters are, not while he’s reading. It’s only once he’s finished Geonhak’s letter that there’s even a reaction.
> 
> “The man’s insane.” Seoho throws the letter out of his sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, i know ive done the part 2 electric booglaoo joke already, no i will not be taking constructive criticism (for chapter titles anyway)  
> anyway, part 2 of this fic is over, uni has started so for like 2 weeks, I'm taking a brief hiatus again, i will be back soon because im proud of this story and do want yall to enjoy it  
> anyway have fun, enjoy the fic

Hwanwoong can’t tell what Seoho’s reaction to the letters are, not while he’s reading. It’s only once he’s finished Geonhak’s letter that there’s even a reaction.

“The man’s insane.” Seoho throws the letter out of his sight.

Hwanwoong reads over the letter, the handwriting is neat, and it looks well thought out.

“How?”

“You were there the first time we met since he disappeared, according to him, he never disappeared. Also, I don’t believe he had a brother.”

Hwanwoong reads over the letter again. Seoho does have a point, now that he’s reading it with a more critical eye, the timelines don’t match. It’s just a side comment, something easily brushed off.

He doesn’t seem dangerous. Still, Hwanwoong doesn’t know him, but from what he remembers, he does look quite scary. He’s not entirely sure Dongju’s safe. He invites Dongju to meet up in his letter, with a small white lie.

“Is Dongju safe, if he’s insane?” Hwanwoong’s still writing, Seoho’s spinning on his chair.

“I mean, I thought he killed his dad.” Seoho has a straight face.

“What the fuck!?” Seoho responds with a giggle, hiding his smile behind his hand.

“Turns out he’s just a softie.” That’s… somewhat comforting. Probably.

Seoho heads to bed while Hwanwoong is writing. He’s nearly finished his letter when Hwanwoong can hear more kicking than normal. He checks in on Keonhee, who’s crying in his sleep.

Hwanwoong tries to shake him awake, he nearly gets kicked in the face for his troubles. He grabs a glass of water, shakes Keonhee one last time as a warning. Unfortunately, he wakes up.

The water ends up over the both of them as Keonhee pulls Hwanwoong in a hug. Keonhee screams, it rings in Hwanwoong’s ear.

“Hey!” Hwanwoong’s sleeves cling to his upper arms due to the water. It’s uncomfortable as he tries to shake the water off. He grimaces.

“Did you have a nightmare?” Hwanwoong asks, Keonhee nods.

Normally, Hwanwoong would climb into Keonhee’s bed as well, just another presence can help him sleep through the night. However, the bed is also wet, so that’s not happening. Hwanwoong invites Keonhee over to his bed.

After changing into dry clothes, they crawl into Hwanwoong’s bed, Keonhee is quick to cuddle Hwanwoong. He can’t finish the letter now, but that can wait until morning, it wouldn’t be sent tonight away.

He’s the last one to wake up, the sun is pretty high, so he doesn’t even want to check the time. He finishes the letter and runs to the post office. As he runs, he spots an incredibly dishevelled man, lying in such a way that multiple people have to step around him. His clothes are torn and he’s balding in patches. He stares at Hwanwoong the whole time, scratches his mess of a beard a couple times. Hwanwoong speeds up.

By the time Hwanwoong has posted the letter and bought some supplies, the dishevelled man is gone. However, Hwanwoong can’t shake off the feeling of being watched. He shivers and runs the rest of the way home.

Keonhee asks what has him so shaken up, Hwanwoong brushes it off. It’s not that big of a deal after all. People stare, that’s just normal.

He can feel the fog lingering in the back of his head. He scrambles into the kitchen, frantically searching for where Seoho keeps the blood. He knows it’s somewhere cool to try to preserve it and prevent clotting.

He finds it, downing one of the bottles.

“You could’ve just said you needed blood; I was worried Woongie.” Keonhee pouts.

The fog came so suddenly though, he’d had blood just yesterday, or the day before. Hwanwoong laughs, hoping his nervousness doesn’t shine through.

Keonhee raises his eyebrow, but otherwise doesn’t say anything.

Hwanwoong shouldn’t have felt the fog, not for another week at least, even then, that would be a worst-case scenario, such as if he had drunk very little in the first place. He should have also been feeling lightheaded whenever he stood up and cold, he definitely should have felt cold. More cold than normal.

He’s confused, that’s safe to say. He should probably also bring this up with Seoho. He should know what’s going on, or at least could figure it out.

“Woongie, are you ok?” Keonhee is crouched down beside Hwanwoong, who’s on the floor.

“Is Seoho home, I don’t feel well.” Keonhee immediately fusses over Hwanwoong, checks his temperature, makes him tea and tries to tell Hwanwoong to go to bed. When Hwanwoong refuses, Keonhee, the bastard, picks him up and tucks him in. He even sits on Hwanwoong when he tries to climb out.

“No! You’re resting until Seoho hyung gets here.”

Hwanwoong can’t help but feel like a child, he’ll remember this for the next time Keonhee gets sick. See how much Keonhee appreciates it. Hwanwoong’s sure he can carry Keonhee, if not, he’ll just drag him.

Seoho wakes Hwanwoong up, the sun has already set. He has a bowl of soup in his hands.

“Blame Keonhee for the lack of meat.”

“I didn’t eat that much.” Keonhee whines. Seoho repeats Keonhee, but with a mocking tone.

Hwanwoong takes a look at the soup, it smells good.

“Is there even any meat?” Hwanwoong lightly slaps Keonhee on the arm.

“Woong, how are you feeling?” Seoho’s childish grin has been replaced with a more concerned look. Hwanwoong tries his best to describe his experiences, how the fog came up out of nowhere when it really shouldn’t have.

“Tell me if there is a god.” Hwanwoong drops his soup, yells in pain and slaps Seoho. Seoho can’t really be implying that Hwanwoong is going to die. Maybe Hwanwoong misinterpreted him.

“What the hell hyung!?” Hwanwoong isn’t dying, he refuses to entertain that idea. Surely there would be some other sign that he’s dying.

“Well, you might not die.” Bastard.

“Is Woong… dying?” Keonhee’s eyes are watering up, and Hwanwoong is pulled into a tight embrace. Keonhee’s grip is strong, and Hwanwoong is positive that ribs aren’t designed to handle such pressure.

“Probably not, we’re not taught about vampires in medical school. Peanut probably just had less blood than normal.” That is the explanation that makes the most sense. Maybe Hwanwoong just remembered how much he ate wrong. That has to be it.

The incident is almost completely forgotten about by the time Hwanwoong gets his letter from Dongju, who’s accepted to meet up.

The 29 th comes quicker than Hwanwoong expected. Keonhee is the one to wake Hwanwoong up, already dressed and ready to leave. Seoho has already made breakfast and while Hwanwoong eats, asks to join them. Hwanwoong obviously agrees.

Hwanwoong wanted to meet in the park, however, Dongju was worried about getting lost and so asked to meet at their house. Which suits Hwanwoong, he just hopes Dongju got his reply in time.

Around midday, an hour after Hwanwoong woke, there’s a knock on the door. Dongju’s alone. He has a shy smile, and his clothes are tidy.

He’s not wearing the blanket.

Keonhee’s quick to talk to Dongju, he’s out of the door so fast that if Hwanwoong couldn’t see his shoes, he would have assumed he wasn’t wearing any. As Hwanwoong is closing the door behind him, Seoho stops him and asks to join. Hwanwoong glances over to Dongju, who’s nodding.

Seoho is the one to close the door and they start walking towards the park. The weather isn’t great, there’s a lot of wind and there’s more clouds than Hwanwoong was hoping for.

“How are Youngjo and Geonhak?” Hwanwoong asks, he’s more invested in how Geonhak is doing, in case he does, in fact, pose a threat to Dongju.

“Youngjo hyung’s affectionate, no one’s safe.” Hwanwoong is praying that Dongju just means that no one is safe from the affection, rather than actual danger. “Geonhak hyung… I think he misses his brother.”

Dongju sounds unsure.

“What’s his brother’s name?” Seoho asks, his stare is intense. Dongju is silent, he closes his eyes for a moment, before shrugging.

“Does he talk about him a lot?” Keonhee is giving Seoho an odd look. Hwanwoong just hopes a fight won’t break out before they even reach the park, which should be close.

Dongju shakes his head, elaborating, “I read his letter.”

Seoho’s probably right then, that Geonhak doesn’t actually have a brother.

Seoho’s about to ask another question, when Keonhee scolds him, claiming that this isn’t an interrogation. Dongju claims that it’s fine.

Hwanwoong can see the park, and there hasn’t been a fight, so Hwanwoong counts that as a win.

There’s a temperature drop.

“I don’t like the look of those clouds.” Keonhee says, more like a comment than anything else.

“It’ll be fine.” Hwanwoong says, it’s been cloudy the past few days, so it shouldn’t rain, hopefully. Maybe he’s jinxed it now.

Despite the mostly bare trees, the park is beautiful. Frost clings to the plants and grass, giving everything a white or silver glow.

“Do you think the ground feels pain when we walk?” Seoho asks, watching his feet, seemingly unaffected by the judging eyes.

“Hyung, your mind is a confusing place, please, never let us see more of it.” Keonhee tries to shut Seoho down, but it doesn’t work.

“Consider, it hurts when I step on someone.” Keonhee and Dongju both sigh.

“The ground isn’t alive.” Hwanwoong says, in hopes that it answers Seoho’s question.

“How do you know that?” How do you answer that? Obviously, the ground isn’t alive, but can he describe why? No, of course not, it’s common knowledge, no one gave him an explanation to explain why. He just… knew.

“It doesn’t move.” Dongju tries.

“Neither do plants.” Seoho counters.

“So, does it experience pain?” Seoho asks after five minutes of silence.

Hwanwoong sees someone from the corner of his eye, stops walking and takes a closer look. It’s the homeless looking man from the other day.

“Hwanwoong-ssi, is everything ok?” Dongju asks.

“Yeah.” He takes one final look at the man, before catching up with the others.

Keonhee holds his hand out, looking up at the sky. Hwanwoong feels a drop of rain land on his face.

“We should head back before,” Keonhee’s sentence gets interrupted by a sudden downpour, he grimaces.

Hwanwoong grabs Dongju’s wrist, as the run back to the house. Dongju whines. However, Hwanwoong is glad that Dongju’s not wearing the blanket, if it’s incredibly important to the boy, he doesn’t want it to get damaged by the rain.

They’re all soaked and out of breath by the time they make it back to the house.

Hwanwoong is closest in height to Dongju, however, when he lends Dongju some dry clothes so that he doesn’t get sick, the sleeves and trouser legs are slightly short. Keonhee is the one to hang everyone’s clothes up to dry as they wait for the rain to pass.

It’s easy to convince Dongju to stay until the rain passes, and subsequently, dinner. Seoho with Keonhee’s help make dinner, while the rain still pours. Hwanwoong is tasked with preventing Keonhee from eating it while they’re still cooking.

“I think you should stay the night.” Hwanwoong says, looking out the window, the rain hasn’t lightened.

“I think the hyungs would be worried.” As soon as Dongju’s finished talking, Hwanwoong can hear someone setting a pan down a lot harsher than necessary, Seoho then goes to his room.

“Dongju, make sure Keonhee doesn’t eat anything, thanks.” Hwanwoong goes to follow Seoho.

“It was one time!” He can hear Dongju laugh.

“Hyung? Are you ok?” Seoho’s sat on the edge of his bed, he’s playing with his nails.

“Yeah… I just, you know.” Seoho stops for a second, takes a deep breath and continues, “they left me and replaced me so easily. Just, he, he’s done nothing wrong…”

Seoho rejects a hug, he shies away from any kind of touch.

“You’ll be ok.” Hwanwoong’s not entirely sure how to comfort Seoho, “Maybe not now, but you’re doing amazing.”

“Thanks.”

They can hear Keonhee scream, Seoho’s the first to go check out what’s happening. Keonhee’s making excuses, such as, every good chef has to taste the food to make sure it’s good.

By the time they finally have dinner, the rain has lessened. It’s still heavy and Hwanwoong doesn’t want Dongju to go home while it’s still pouring outside. Not to mention how dark it is. It won’t be safe. Still Dongju insists on going home.

“At least let me go with you.” Hwanwoong suggests.

“Weren’t you just saying it was dangerous?” Dongju seems to be thinking about something, he glances over at Seoho, his eyes twinkle. “Seoho-ssi should come with.”

Seoho’s eyes narrow.

“Why?” Dongju doesn’t reply, not straight away.

“I think they would like to talk to you.” Hwanwoong looks over to see how Seoho will react. His face is passive. He looks back to Dongju, who’s doe eyes have somehow grown.

The rain is still heavy by the time they leave, and despite efforts to stay dry, they’re soaked by the time they can get a taxi.

Dongju’s clothes are bundled up, they most likely need to be dried again.

Seoho shakes water out of his hair, Hwanwoong uses his hands to protect himself from the water droplets, a fruitless effort.

By the time they arrive at Dongju’s home, the rain is starting to let up. It’s more of a shower by now, rather than a downpour.

The stranger’s quick to fret over Dongju. Dongju introduces him as Youngjo to Hwanwoong. Youngjo looks over at Hwanwoong, ready to speak. He then freezes. Seoho has an awkward chuckle. The seconds seem to drag on, taking up minutes of their time. Hwanwoong also laughs, wondering if he should just leave.

“Seoho I am so sorry.” Youngjo is the first to speak. Dongju disappears behind a door.

“You didn’t know.” Is Hwanwoong supposed to stay, this doesn’t seem like a conversation he should be part of. Yet he can’t leave Seoho to be part of this by himself, not until he’s kicked out at least.

Dongju returns, dragging Geonhak (Hwanwoong’s sure he has to be Geonhak) behind. It’s silent.

“Do you have anything to say?” Dongju is the one to break the silence, as if he’s trying to get a misbehaving child to apologise. Geonhak looks like he’s trying to find something to say but he doesn’t say anything.

“Not even a sorry,” Seoho motions to Hwanwoong to leave.

“Why did you leave?” Hwanwoong asks, despite the looks from Seoho. Both Youngjo and Geonhak look guilty.

“I was scared.” Youngjo, despite being good with words in his letter, doesn’t elaborate further, he sounds ashamed. Geonhak looks troubled.

“Hyung, you wanted to be friends again.” Dongju pulls at Geonhak’s arm.

As Geonhak tries to explain himself, claiming that he tried to go back and that he’d seen Seoho multiple times, Seoho’s glare grows.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Seoho’s voice is still at his normal volume.

“I did.”

Hwanwoong swears that Seoho is ready to fight. Dongju takes him into another room, probably to avoid a fight. There’s an awkward silence, Hwanwoong isn’t sure there’s a knife strong or sharp enough to cut the tension.

“Are you seeing things Geonhak?”

“Of course not!” He sounds frustrated.

“Maybe you just thought he was Seoho?” Hwanwoong asks as Dongju and Seoho return.

“He was Seoho!”

Youngjo makes his way to Hwanwoong’s side and invites Hwanwoong for tea. He figures it’s probably best to let them fight it out for the time being. Their voices gradually get louder.

“How could I have replaced you if I only really spoke to you and my brother for decades?” If his brother never existed, and he never spoke to Seoho, how long has Geonhak been alone?

“Since when did you have a brother?” Seoho’s tone is accusatory. Geonhak flounders. Starting a word but never finishing it, his head in his hands.

“You have a brother?” Youngjo asks.

“What’s his name?” Seoho asks at the same time.

Geonhak isn’t answering any of the questions. It’s silent as Hwanwoong thinks. Surely, isolation can affect someone, maybe? Seoho should know, but it would make sense, surely. Probably.

“You need help.” Seoho’s voice is full of poison. Geonhak glares at Seoho.

“There’s nothing wrong with me!” Geonhak stands.

“You just see and hear things, because that’s normal.” Hwanwoong knows that Youngjo means well when suggesting letting them argue it out, but he’s certain one of them is going to start a physical fight soon.

Hwanwoong’s about to step in, break up the fight before it happens. Dongju, however, beats him to it, “Are you children?”

Both Seoho and Geonhak shake their heads.

“Ok, so can you talk like adults?” Dongju sits beside Youngjo and steals his tea. He doesn’t even complain, he just pulls Dongju closer so he can rest his head on his shoulder.

Either Hwanwoong missed the apology or there was none, but Geonhak and Seoho sat beside each other, each with a cup of tea. There’s no hostility, however, they aren’t speaking.

“It’s quite dark, do you want to stay the night and leave in the morning?” Youngjo asks, Hwanwoong shakes his head.

“Keonhee’s by himself.” He doesn’t want to leave Keonhee for alone longer than necessary. Hopefully, he’s not too afraid, and that none of the lightbulbs go out while they’re gone. That would probably kill him.

They leave once Seoho’s finished his tea, goodbyes are an awkward affair with Youngjo and Geonhak, everyone is fidgeting and unsure of their words.

“Seoho-ssi, Hwanwoong-ssi, stay safe,” Dongju says, waving goodbye.

“You can speak comfortably with us.” Hwanwoong’s surprised by Seoho’s words, he agrees wholeheartedly, he just doesn’t expect it. They wave goodbye.

It’s a new moon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also no diggity is at 14 million views so im vv excited  
> also can yall believe my goal was just 30000 words, and here we are, barely have the main villain introduced and it's 30000 words


	12. Not worried, not worried at all, don't know what you're talking about (Keonhee)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He’s not worried, he’s just mildly concerned. After all, it doesn’t take multiple hours to travel to Dongju’s and back. It’s the two of them, and they can see in the dark. So realistically, nothing should happen. But knowing something and feeling it are two different things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm back hoes  
> another short chapter, sorry, but you're f i n a l l y getting the plot from the summary, it just took 30000 words, that's on me, im sorry  
> anyway, enjoy ^^

Hwanwoong and Seoho have been gone for at least a couple hours. Keonhee’s not worried, he just can’t sleep, not until they’re home, safe and sound.

He’s not worried, he’s just mildly concerned. After all, it doesn’t take multiple hours to travel to Dongju’s and back. It’s the two of them, and they can see in the dark. So realistically, nothing should happen. But knowing something and feeling it are two different things.

He knows that they’re safe, it just doesn’t feel like it. Something about the night. The way there’s no moonlight to guide them back, barely any stars. The way the wind seems too still, yet there’s a definite chill in the air.

They’re fine when they do return.

As Keonhee knew, they’re safe. Nothing’s gone wrong, they’ve had no problems. In fact, from the sounds of it, they had a pretty good time. So, he didn’t have to worry. Ultimately, they’re safe, that’s all that matters.

Keonhee is the first to fall asleep that night.

He wakes up cuddling Hwanwoong, who’s still asleep. He tries to slowly untangle himself so as to let Hwanwoong get some more sleep. Thankfully, Hwanwoong isn’t that clingy, so it takes minimal effort to escape.

What isn’t helpful, is how the blanket curls itself around his ankle and how he falls face first onto the floor. What isn’t helpful is how his head throbs and how he cries out.

Somehow, Hwanwoong is still asleep.

Dongju’s next letter arrives later than usual, his handwriting isn’t as neat as usual, yet he’s as friendly as normal. They quickly fall back in the habit of writing letters, Seoho participates more frequently now.

It’s about a month later when Keonhee sees Youngjo, at least, he’s sure it’s Youngjo according to Dongju’s description, and his brief time meeting him. He stares, debating if he should talk to him. But when he turns to introduce himself, Youngjo’s no longer alone. There’s a tall man, probably about the same height as Keonhee if he had to guess, with him. He looks homeless.

Youngjo looks over to where Keonhee is, and smiles.

“Keonhee, right?”

“Yeah, you’re Youngjo, right?” He nods, so Keonhee was right.

“This is Yoochun.” Youngjo points to the stranger, now that Keonhee is closer, he can make out the dirt that covers Yoochun’s skin and the fact that his clothes are incredibly tattered. He must be freezing, the snow has settled in, and there’s no way he’s receiving any protection from the cold. There’s some small talk, it’s stilted and Yoochun never addresses Keonhee, in fact, he doesn’t even try to look at him.

Keonhee excuses himself. If he doesn’t move soon, he’ll be late for work, helping out in a local bakery. It’s not great pay, but it helps support Seoho’s wages.

As he leaves, he overhears Youngjo saying that he’ll help Yoochun, Keonhee can’t explain the dread that washes over him as he hears this. The dread lingers as he works, as he smiles and tries to push it down.

When he gets home, he collapses over Hwanwoong, letting his body go completely limp and boneless. A faint flicker of hope lodged deep in his heart that Hwanwoong can help curb the dread. Hwanwoong complains about Keonhee being heavy before manoeuvring him so his head is in his lap. Keonhee takes Hwanwoong’s arm to cuddle.

“Do I need to fight anyone?” Hwanwoong asks, poking where he can reach. Keonhee shakes his head, tries to figure out how to explain his dread in words, however, nothing comes to mind. There’s really no explanation. Nothing that makes sense.

“Just a long day.” It’s not technically a lie, the dread made the minutes drag on, his body seemingly ready to shut down at any moment and he had to fight to stop it.

They cuddle in silence until Keonhee falls asleep.

Dongju’s letter arrives a week later. There’s an additional letter, from Youngjo, for Seoho’s eyes only, according to Seoho. It doesn’t say for his ears only, so he reads it out loud. Apparently, Yoochun’s looking for a cure for vampirism, and Youngjo’s hopeful. Keonhee can see why. Years of living past your time, never being able to stay in one place, hiding, it takes its toll.

Seoho’s response is the longest that Keonhee has seen from him, there’s questions, basic ones, like who is Yoochun, as well as questions relating to how he plans to conduct the experiments, what has he done already and how he plans to fund this.

Youngjo’s next letter is an invitation to come over, to talk to Yoochun in person. Apparently Yoochun is an old friend, who’s recently been struggling due to the hard times. He’s staying with them until he can find his footing again.

Keonhee’s not sure he trusts that, then again, he only saw the man for a couple minutes. It’s not enough time to know someone. Youngjo would be a better judge of his character. Besides, it’s not fair to judge someone so harshly without knowing them.

When they visit, Yoochun definitely looks a lot better; he’s almost unrecognisable. A good clean and shave really does change a person. He’s the one to open the door, Keonhee can’t see the others.

Hwanwoong’s face is unreadable. Keonhee looks over to Seoho. Like Hwanwoong, his face is also unreadable, as though they both have mastered the art of the poker face. Yoochun has a bright smile, greets all of them warmly and introduces himself. Dongju’s quick to emerge after, and he’s got his blanket wrapped around him. It’s then that Keonhee realises, there’s a chill in the air.

Dongju asks how they are, how their journey was and if they’ve ate.

Yoochun tries to separate them, as Seoho was the only one that the letter was addressed to.

“We can talk here.” Seoho’s smiling.

“What about-“ The smile’s gone, from both parties.

“It’ll interest them too.” Begrudgingly, Yoochun invites them to sit around the table, Dongju’s quick to nestle himself into Hwanwoong while Hwanwoong plays with his hair. Keonhee’s going to accuse Hwanwoong of favouritism when they’re on their way home. It’s only fair.

“So, what have you already discovered?” Seoho’s stare is cold, his voice is professional sounding.

“I thought we could chat first.” There are many words Keonhee could use to describe Yoochun’s smile, friendly isn’t one of them. Seoho grits his teeth.

“Of course.”

Yoochun asks about where they work, he visibly perks up once he finds out that Seoho is a doctor. Dongju whispers something in Hwanwoong’s ear.

The front door opens, bringing a blast of cold air, Keonhee shivers and rubs his arms to try to bring some warmth. Dongju beckons him over, blanket covering his outstretched arm. Keonhee shits over and is enveloped in warmth as Dongju wraps the blanket around him. He rests his head on Dongju’s shoulder. It’s Seoho and Yoochun who carry the conversation as Dongju’s cuddle pile grows.

Youngjo places a blanket around Seoho’s shoulders and sits beside him. He joins the conversation, with little input, much like Hwanwoong, Dongju and Keonhee.

It’s not much longer before the conversation turns to vampirism.

“One important thing that I’ve discovered, biting is one of two ways to turn someone into a vampire. Sharing needles is the other that I’ve found.” Yoochun talks as though he has all the authority on the topic.

“How did you discover this?”

“I got some volunteers and tested different theories.”

“How did you find these volunteers?” Seoho looks unimpressed. Hwanwoong looks over at Keonhee, questions in his face, questions that Keonhee doesn’t have the answers to.

“You meet a lot of people when you’ve been alive for centuries.”

“What else have you discovered?”

“Vampires have a higher body temperature than humans, especially when recently turned. They cool down over time, a month, I think. Illnesses are rarely fatal. I’ve never found a vampire who’s had cancer. I can lend you my notes on how I discovered this.” How can vampirism affect illness? There’s no specialised vampire doctor.

“That would be appreciated.” Yoochun leaves. Dongju asks how Youngjo’s work was, it was tiring. Then Yoochun comes back, a surprisingly disappointing number of notes in his arms, considering it’s supposedly been centuries.

Seoho doesn’t open it, promising that he’ll look through it when he gets home. Yoochun smiles, tells Seoho to take all the time he needs.

“How does illness affect vampires?” Keonhee asks.

“I’m not entirely sure how it works, just vampires have more resistance.” Yoochun just shrugs, technically, it’s an answer, just an incredibly unsatisfying one.

“How do you find so many vampires to do these experiments?” Everyone looks over to Yoochun.

“I’ve found ways to identify them,” he shrugs, “there’s subtle tells, it’s hard to explain.” It’s an even more unsatisfying answer, however, Keonhee supposes it makes sense. After all, he’s much older, he’d have time to figure this out.

When they leave, Seoho’s silent, holding onto the book as though his life depends on it. Hwanwoong’s nearly falling asleep the whole way home. Keonhee is basically carrying him as they walk.

As soon as the door is shut, Seoho speaks, “I’ve seen him before.”

“He was homeless living nearby.” Keonhee responds, it’s a simple explanation.

“I saw him too.” Hwanwoong says at the same time.

“Maybe that’s it.” Seoho doesn’t look convinced, however, he drops it.

Hwanwoong goes to bed as Seoho starts to read, or pretend to read, he’s going through the pages too fast to actually be reading. Keonhee looks at the pages, they’re all in a script he can’t read, if he’s correct, it’s Chinese. There’s nothing in Hangul, not even notes on the side, and there’s a lot of notes on the side.

“I’m sure I can replicate his research, and faster.” Seoho shuts the book.

“Or we could get a translator, hyung.”

“It’d be easier to replicate it.” Keonhee rolls his eyes.

They mention the language barrier in the next letter. Keonhee takes it into his own hands to try to read it in the mean time, while Seoho finds every book on science that he can get his hands on.

It’s a waxing crescent moon.


End file.
